


Not Dead Yet

by captainafroelf



Series: Bucky and Mira [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Badass SHIELD Agents, Black Character(s), Black Family, Established Relationship, F/M, Female Character of Color, Female Friendship, Fluff, Ghosts, Hydra (Marvel), Romance, Smut, Super Soldier Serum, Trauma, probably best that you go read the first part
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-06
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-03-16 15:52:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 38,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3494108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainafroelf/pseuds/captainafroelf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mira Wilson is a super soldier.<br/>She didn't ask to be, she probably was never meant to be, but she is.<br/>It was always her dream, but trauma has turned it into a nightmare.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dream Come True

**Author's Note:**

> If you're here because you read People Aren't Weapons and you're expecting a very cheery, calm, and peaceful multi-chapter fic adventure... I'm very sorry, that's not quite the case.  
> I'm really evil, you need to get accustomed to this fact.  
> (On the bright side, there's a lot less good people dying in this one, and I managed to finish chapter one a week before I thought I would.)  
> If you're just joining the fun, check out the first part 'People Aren't Weapons', it should catch you up to speed.  
> Thank you for giving me and my nonsense a chance! <3

**September 22nd, 9:30 pm**

Tony Stark is putting the final touches on the decorations for another legendary Stark party. It was Mira’s 28th birthday, and that morning she was officially given a promotion at S.H.I.E.L.D, so Sam had Tony plan a party at Avengers Tower where she’d been living for a few months.

According to Mira, it also marked a full ten months of her and Bucky being together. That fact is not something Tony thought was necessarily party-worthy so he just kinda… forgot about it. Which explains why he walked in on Mira totally giving Bucky a blowjob in the kitchen at 2 am. _True romance_ , he thought to himself. He pretended not to see and moved on.  Still, would he ever really move on?

Speaking of the very happy birthday girl, she’d picked out the perfect outfit for the party. A beautiful black velvet dress and black heels that Pepper gave to her as an early birthday present the previous day. The dress was sleeveless, which was perfect since she’d gotten a tattoo on the inside of her wrist that said ‘Not Dead Yet’. It was a middle finger to the entirety of Hydra and a reminder to herself that she was powerful.

Her favorite accessory, of course, was Bucky. Somehow she’d convinced him to wear a waistcoat to the party, his hair was pulled back into a messy bun. He looked great, and he looked even better with her. They looked like supermodels, but they were the kind of supermodels no one should ever try to get into a fight with.

Bucky stood by the bedroom door and watched Mira apply her eyeliner at the slowest, most careful pace possible. Part of him wanted to be a little shit and mess her up, another part didn’t want to be thrown through the door. Her powers had really grown since she’d gotten them. She could use her telekinesis without getting exhausted and she could do push-ups with Sam sitting on her back. He saw her change every morning, she was getting stronger all the time.

Her moving in was one of the greatest things to happen to him. It’s funny, he was never big on the idea of sharing a room, but sharing one with Mira was great. He woke up next to her every day, the room smelled like her perfume, when they couldn't sleep they’d just talk about anything. They’d never been closer.

“Baby, how do I look?” Mira asked. She turned and looked to him for validation.

“You know I’m the worst person to ask this question, right?” He asked her in return. “Because you could wear a garbage bag filled with actual garbage, and I’ll probably think you look like an angel.”

“Try to remain impartial.”

“You look great, Doll. You always do.”

“Thank you.” She leaned up to kiss him and he shifted away. “You’re not gonna smudge my lipstick, I promise. This brand is indestructible.”

He smiled. “Okay good.” He kissed her. “So, how do I look?”

“Like a man my mother would never approve of, which means I love it.”

“Why wouldn’t your mom approve of me? Is it the whole killing people thing?”

She laughed. “Yeah, that’s exactly it.”

“Anything else?”

“I think the hair would throw her off.”

“You cut it!”

“That’s how I know it would throw her off. She’d call you a hippie and shave your head. That woman is still angry that I stopped straightening my hair in high school."

They heard the music start to play from the party room which signalled that everything was ready. Steve and Sam knocked on their door, ready to go. Mira checked her hair one last time and took Bucky’s hand, walking out the door like a king and queen.

"You two look great!" Steve said.

Mira twirled. "Thanks dude, I feel great! I think this is the first dress I've worn in months."

Sam grinned. It was like watching her grow up all over again."You look almost as good as me."

"I look better than you."

"How many people did Stark invite?" asked Bucky.

"Some family, a few S.H.I.E.L.D agents, everyone in the Tower." Sam replied.

Mira glared at him. "What family?"

Suddenly, Sam became nervous. He cleared his throat and loosened his tie. "Just some family... One person."

"Adisa?!"

"She's your little sister!"

Bucky raised an eyebrow. "You have a sister?"

"Yeah..." She pulled out her phone to text Adisa and ask if she really was coming. “I love her, she’s one of the sweetest people on earth. She just has a terrible case of foot in the mouth syndrome.”

Sam laughed. “Remember when you had that guy staying in your room at the last family reunion and she accidentally told your momma over lunch?”

“Remember how that guy was my college roommate and I put her in a headlock after that? If she says anything to y'all or, God forbid, to Tony, I'm going to murder her."

“I think we all know you well enough not to judge you, even Tony.” Steve assured her.

Bucky took her arm. “Don’t you dare try to worry about anything, it’s your birthday.” They smiled at each other, like they always did, and she led him out to the party.

* * *

In a shocking turn of events, there really weren’t that many people at the party. Tony seemed to pay careful attention when putting the guest list together. The music was great, too. There were songs from the seventies, pop songs from the 2000s, and Beyonce, of course.

It never occurred to her how long it had been since she’d actually gone dancing. Out on the floor with some of her best friends she felt like she was in heaven. It was so relaxing.

She shuffled over to Tony and hugged him. “This is amazing!” She yelled over the music.

“Did you expect anything less?”

“Okay, don’t let it go to your head.”

“Too late, sweetheart. Happy birthday.”

“Thank you," she said. A sneaky grin crept on her face. "Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the view this morning! Bucky couldn't go back to sleep after that."

Tony’s eyes widened and she patted him on the back before dancing over to Natasha. _She knows_.

* * *

Natasha and Mira both kicked their heels off by the end of the second hour to dance. Most of the other guests were eating and talking around the room while those two kept the dancefloor alive for hours. In the middle of a Marvin Gaye song, the redhead pointed to Bucky who was sitting at the bar, watching Mira with a drink in his hand.

“That’s so sad.” Natasha said.

“He doesn’t dance, Nat. I won’t force him.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but you can persuade him.” She pushed her towards him. “He needs to have more fun. Go get him, hot stuff.”

Truthfully, she did want to dance with him. She just wanted to see him really have fun and let loose for once. She wasn't necessarily a party girl herself, but she loved dancing! She'd only danced with him once, and once was not enough.

Knowing he'd say no, she went over to him to ask anyway. "Bucky Barnes, I love you very much."

"Oh God..."

"Will you join me on the dancefloor?"

He sighed. She was so cute and hard to refuse, but it wasn't impossible. "No."

She pretended to be shocked and that made him laugh. "What?! You won't dance with your girlfriend on her birthday?! I'm appalled."

"Stay appalled."

"Please, baby! I'll pay you back later!"

"Nope."

The song changed to "Work Song” by Hozier. Mira tugged on his arm. "You have to dance with me to this song!"

"You're gonna bug me until I go with you, right?" He asked her. She nodded. _I love you_. "Alright, but don't expect me to enjoy myself."

Mira smiled and pulled him towards the dancefloor. “You of all people should know that I would never do anything to intentionally embarrass you, okay?” Other guests moved out of their way. “Just pretend it’s you and me, in my old apartment with the couches pushed away.”

She took his hand and he placed his other hand on the small of her back. They just swayed to the music as if no one were watching. Mira laid her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat as the gentle music soothed the room. 

_My baby never fret none_  
_About what my hands and my body done_  
_If the Lord don't forgive me_  
_I'd still have my baby and my babe would have me_  
_When I was kissing on my baby_  
_And she put her love down soft and sweet_  
_In the low lamp light I was free_  
_Heaven and hell were words to me_

Bucky brought their intertwined hands to his lips and placed gentle kisses on her fingers. When the song was over, Mira looked up at him and smiled. “See? Was that so bad?” He shook his head. “Ok, you can sit down now.”

“Thank God…”

Mira felt someone tap her on the shoulder. When she turned around, she saw her little sister Adisa smiling back at her. Mira and Adisa were born six years apart, but they were often mistaken for twins. They shared the same big doll-like eyes and bright smiles. Adisa was a bit shorter than Mira, even in the red heels she was wearing. A flower crown sat on top of her short, straight hair. Also unlike Mira, she had freckles all along her cheeks and nose.

“What? No ‘hello’ for your baby sister?” she asked.

Mira smiled and pulled her into a warm hug. “Hey, loser.”

Adisa laughed. “Excuse you, this loser is gonna be a civil rights lawyer in a few years.”

“You have the right to be a loser.”

Adisa rolled her eyes and they started to dance together. She looked over to Bucky who was sitting by himself on a couch by the mini bar. “That’s him?!” Mira nodded. She gasped and jumped up and down. “He’s gorgeous, you hot piece of shit! You should’ve sent me a picture!”

“I did! I sent you our first selfie the day you dropped your phone in the shitter at the 7/11.”

“He’s like classically handsome but also has this whole rebel without a cause thing going on.”

“That is… that is actually really accurate.”

"What's the sex like?"

Mira giggled nervously and blushed. "Why do you need to know?"

"It must be good... Kinky?"

"You gotta stop there. How's Columbia U treating you?"

"Well, I'm not Olivia Pope but I'm definitely feeling lawyer-y." She tugged at her bra and smiled proudly. "I’m also captain of the debate team now!”

"I'm so proud of you!"

"Well, I'm proud of you, too. You’re hot, you have the best friends, the best job, you live in Avengers Tower, your boyfriend looks like he has a big dick-"

"Adisa!"

"I'm serious!"

"I know you are, that’s what worries me."

"Mi-mi, listen, someone in our family has to be having sex. My bi ass can't find a girl or guy to have a romantic moment with unless I pretend to be strictly hetero or super homo, Sam is clearly too busy with his crush on a certain American icon to do anything sexy, clearly fate has chosen you. You must represent the League of Sexually Active Wilsons."

"Ah, I must fulfill the prophecy."

"Yes, bitch, and you will!"

"Alright, I don't want to be disowned."

Adisa shook her head. “Whatever, just introduce me to your boyfriend! I want to meet him!"

"Okay, but please be careful!" She told her, pulling her towards Bucky. "This will not be a repeat of the family reunion, Uncle Tommy's funeral, or my 18th birthday."

"I will try not to say anything you don't want people to know. I've gotten better!"

"We'll see."

Bucky noticed Mira walking over with Adisa and poured his girlfriend a glass of champagne. He knew she still loved the taste of it, even if the alcohol had no effect.

"Hello again."

"You're not gonna make me dance again, are you?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Not in public." She kissed him. "This is my sister, Adisa."

Adisa smiled and shook his flesh and blood hand. "Strong family resemblance," he said.

"Is that champagne?" Mira asked.

Bucky nodded. "I figured you would want some."

"You are so cute, and very right."

Adisa watched them interact with a grin on her face, these two were clearly in love with each other. It was in the eyes, and the body language.  They sat next to each other on the couch.

"I was talking to your wall butler, JARVIS," Adisa told Bucky. "He said you've been dating for ten months. That's, like, Mira's longest relationship."

_Fuck..._ Mira took a very long drink of champagne and tried her best to be optimistic.

"I'm just saying, you must be really special, bravo." She added, clearly backtracking. "It's nice for her not to date garbage for once."

"Adisa..."

"Her ex was a dick. He cheated on her with seven different women."

"Adisa, please!"

She covered her mouth and gasped. "Oh no, now I'm the dick."

Bucky shook his head. "It's fine, I don't care about Mira's past." He insisted. Then he turned to his girlfriend and grinned. "I care about us, in the present."

Mira giggled. "That's such a good response."

Adisa nervously tried rephrasing herself, and this time it came out a lot smoother. “Listen, all I’m saying is she’s worth too much for guys like that, so I’m glad she’s found someone who is worthy of all of her Black beauty.”

Mira grinned. “Really, Adi?”

“Of course, your happiness is like number three on my priorities list.”

“Seems too low to me…”

“Shut up.” Adisa poured herself a drink and spotted a very pretty female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent dancing on the floor. "Is she into girls?” she asked them. They nodded. “Okay then, Imma talk to y'all later."

Bucky laughed to himself. “I see what you mean by ‘foot in mouth syndrome’.”

“She recovered well.” She groaned. “I don’t ever talk about my exes. She knows that, but sometimes, I don’t know, she can’t help herself.” Mira let out a long yawn and checked the time on her phone. 1 am. She sat on Bucky’s lap and curled her legs up on him. “I’m tired.”

“I know.”

“Would it be wrong for me to ditch my own birthday party an hour early?”

“No.”

“Can you carry me to our room?”

“Absolutely.”

He stood up, holding her bridal style. They walked to the elevator without being noticed. Mira laid her head on Bucky's shoulder, and he placed affectionate kisses on her hair.

"Do you think we’ll still be together at my 80th birthday?"

“I don’t see why not.”

“I’ll be all old and saggy.”

"I'll technically be about 159, so you'll still be my sexy younger half."

"You’ll be in a wheelchair looking like a sad raccoon,” she joked. “I’ll be pushing the wheelchair looking like a wrinkly grape.”

“So… a raisin?”

“Hush…”

“I thought you said Black people don’t age.”

“That’s right! So I’ll stay looking like a trophy wife while you gain a wrinkle for every moment of stress.”

He laughed. "That's how it already is." They reached their floor and Bucky carried her down the hallway to their room. “What if I dropped you?”

“Don’t you dare, Bucky Barnes, I will throw you through the floor.”

“But what if I just…” He started to let go, then immediately caught her, laughing as if he’d told the best joke ever.

She playfully hit him on his arm. “You’re such an asshole!”

"Yeah, well, you seem to like me that way."

"I don’t just like you, I love you... asshole."

"I love you, too."

 


	2. Sunday Mornings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut ahead.  
> I know, smut in the second chapter is a little abrupt, but it just worked for me this way. I hope you like it!

Mira instinctively woke up every morning before sunrise. There was something comforting about watching the world around her slowly become brighter as the sun rose in the sky. It was a warm, protective feeling. In a way, it also connected her to people she’d lost along the way. Her father, her childhood best friend, and Kat.

She never forgot Kat.

Every second she devoted to strengthening her abilities was dedicated to Dr. Grey. She had a tattoo of a heart on her ribs in memory of the woman who made her a soldier.

The morning after her birthday party, Mira woke up wrapped in Bucky’s arms. His hair messily strewn across his face. He was watching her, but his eyes told her that he was lost in thought.

“Mornin’” she whispered.

“Mornin’, Doll.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Stuff…”

“What stuff?”

“Good stuff... I’ll tell you later.”

“Okay, but I’m holding you to that.” She sat up and pulled her hair into a ponytail. “What do you want for breakfast, baby?”

He grinned. "I love when you call me that."

She giggled. "Why?"

"You have an accent, sort of."

"Bucky, please." Mira blushed. "I do not!"

"You do, I swear you do. It's pretty."

"Just tell me what it is you want for breakfast."

“Pop Tarts.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I had one yesterday morning, have you ever had one?”

She nodded. “Every kid who grew up in the America has had a Pop Tart. What flavors do we have?”

“Strawberry, blue raspberry, cookies and creme, and s’mores.”

“S’mores, all the way.”

“Blue raspberry is pretty good.”

“Of course you’d think that raspberry is the best.” Bucky was confused. “It was a Russian joke.”

“It wasn’t funny.”

“You know, sometimes your unwavering honesty hurts.”

“Your jokes are usually funny, I promise.”

“All of my jokes are funny.”

“Sure.”

Bucky got out of the bed, running his metal fingers through his hair. Mira watched him walk over to the drawer to fish out a shirt. His body was a miracle. Every muscle worked towards the entire beautiful machine. It was impossible for her not to stare sometimes. She just wished he could see how perfect she thought he was. _God, I'm lucky._

He found an old t-shirt and slung it over his shoulder, then headed for the door. “Babe, I’m gonna go take a shower.” He told her. “You up for training after breakfast?” Mira bit her lip and nodded. He smirked. “I know what you want, and you’ll have to earn it in training.” With that, he headed out for his shower.

* * *

Mira stretched her arms and used her powers to open the closet. _As it turns out, people with telekinesis are the laziest of the lazy motherfuckers_. She pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of workout pants. It was a slow Sunday. Most of the other Avengers slept in, so the place was completely quiet. She could even hear Bucky showering down the hall. It often gave her time to think.

She grabbed her camera from the bedside table and stood in front of the mirror. She made the camera float in the air then, once she had the angle just right, she took a selfie. Surprisingly, it turned out alright.

Then, suddenly, she began taking it all in. Reality hit her like a ton of bricks. Her image in the selfie, her powers, waking up beside Bucky every morning; it all made her realize that she was the happiest she’d ever been. All the loss and sacrifices have led to this wonderful point in her life, and she knew that.

Still, she carried a lot of sadness, a lot of guilt. It was something she had a hard time sharing with anyone. Images from her Hydra ordeal lingered in her mind. They were inescapable, sometimes they were even physically painful. She tried to suppress them, but they stained her.

Of course, she had distractions. Being with friends helped. Being with Bucky helped even more. But the feeling itself was always there, waiting to creep out from wherever it was hiding and steal her happiness away.

Bucky walked into the room, ready for training, drying his dripping brown hair with a towel. “Shower’s free.” He noticed how she was looking at the camera, and he knew there was something unpleasant on her mind. “Is something wrong?”

“Of course not, I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem fine.”

She put on a fake smile and put the camera back on the table. “I’m really fine, honey, I promise.” She kissed him on the cheek and grabbed her clothes. “Nothing to worry about.”

* * *

The best part of Sunday mornings was training, hands down. Mira never felt too tired, slow, or sickly to train anymore. Physically, she was the person she’d always wanted to be. She was constantly improving, and having an enormous amount of fun. Sometimes Steve would come down to train with her, sometimes Sam would, sometimes Nat would. Bucky was her number one fan, and she was his, and that made training even better.

He stood at the other end of the training room holding a tube of tennis balls. Mira’s reflexes were still a little off, so they were really focusing in on that. Bucky threw the balls at her, and she would have to either deflect them with her telekinesis or catch them in her hands.

The first time she hit six out of the twelve balls. The second time she hit nine. The third time she hit eleven. Then on the fourth she went down to ten.

“So fucking close!” she yelled.

“Yeah, but you still haven’t hit all twelve.”

“Do I really have to hit all twelve?”

“What if someone throws a knife at your head, huh?!” He asked her. “What’s gonna happen to that pretty face if there’s a knife in your forehead?!”

She groaned and took a quick drink of water. “You know what, let’s make this interesting.”

He picked up all the balls and put them back in the tube. _Always up to something_. “It’s already interesting watching you get frustrated.”

She pushed a target board to where Bucky was standing, and took the tube of tennis balls. “Every time I hit the target directly in the center, you have to take something off.” She proposed. “If I win, we have sex on the training room floor.”

Bucky nodded. He was always up for things like this. “Sounds fun. If I win, you strip and we do it on the roof.”

She raised her eyebrows and pointed upwards. “The roof?”

“Uh huh.”

“You are so on.”

She grabbed a ball and got into perfect baseball pitcher form, before throwing it at hard as she could directly into the bullseye. Then she smiled at Bucky.

“Take off the shirt.”

He rolled his eyes and pulled the shirt over his head. “It won’t happen again.”

She threw the second ball and it hit the target. “Shoes.”

“Of course.”

“Oh, it’s probably a good time to tell you that I played softball in college. I was a pitcher.”

“Are you serious, Mira?!”

She giggled mischievously and threw the third ball into the bullseye. “Whoops.” She walked over to him, undid the drawstring of his pants, and slid them down. She could see him hardening through his underwear, and she could already feel herself becoming wet with anticipation. “It might’ve slipped my mind.”

Bucky licked his lips and pulled her close. “You tricked me?”

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Do you know how much I want you right now?”

She looked down at his erection. “I have an idea.”

Within moments, Bucky had Mira pinned against the wall. His hands roamed her thighs, tugging at her sweatpants. He slipped them off of her and threw them to the side. He kissed along her neck and shoulders, biting down hard as purple marks appeared on her brown skin.

She ran her hands across his muscular chest. He swallowed hard as her hand traveled closer and closer to his manhood. She freed him from his underwear and stroked his shaft with her fingers. She looked up into his darkened eyes which began to flutter closed as she pumped him. A grunt came from the back of his throat.

“я хочу, чтобы поесть вас.” _I want to eat you out._

“Да, пожалуйста.” _Yes, please._

She let him go and he got down on his knees. Her scent only drove him to act faster. He pulled off her panties and lifted one of her legs over his shoulder. Her fingers ran through his hair, his hot breath brushing her warmth, causing her to whimper with need.

The first time his tongue ran across her womanhood, he did it slowly. He watched her jaw drop and her eyes close. She wanted him so badly that it was making her sensitive.

Using his fingers, he spread her lips apart, allowing more access. His tongue circled her clit, licking her wetness from top to bottom. She moaned loudly, her toes curled. It was all over when he started to suck on her clit. His lips sucked on her’s and her grip on his hair tightened.

“God... Fuck… Bucky!”

His hands held her ass, pulling her womanhood closer to his tongue. She could feel her body warming up. Her orgasm was just beginning to build.

“Shit, baby… I’m gonna cum…”

He focused his mouth on her clit and pressed two metal fingers into her. She was biting her lip, trying not to get too loud. The last thing she needed was for someone to walk in on her mid-climax. Bucky was just so good at this. He was stimulating all the right places. The pleasure was overwhelming. Her orgasm shook her body. Her walls contracted around his fingers. He licked her cum and wiped his mouth.

“Вы хотите ездить мне?” _Do you want to ride me?_

Words weren’t an option at this point, all she could do was nod. He stood up and lifted her shirt over her head. Then, he unhooked her bra and threw it to the side. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him as he brought them down to the floor.

She sat on his lap and he held her hips. He kissed around her breasts, taking one in his mouth and licking her nipple before moving on and doing the same to the other. He let go of her hips and she kissed his chest and his abs. She took his erect member in her hand and licked the tip. Then she took him in her mouth, all of him, until she felt him at the back of her throat. Her cheeks hollowed as she sucked and licked him just the way he liked it. Bucky groaned with pleasure, giving her exactly what she wanted, and she released him with a ‘pop’ sound.

She led his erection to her entrance, slowly guiding him inside of her. She lowered herself on him until he completely filled her. He sat up and tenderly kissed her on the forehead.

“You feel like heaven,” he whispered. “Ride me, Doll.”

He put his hands back on her hips and she started rolling her body against his. It was like watching her perform an erotic dance. He couldn't take his eyes from her beautiful shining body. She threw her head back, her moans louder than ever, she sped up and he thrusted upward to meet her rhythm. Sounds of skin meeting skin, as Bucky thrust into Mira, met their sighs and groans. It was a sexual symphony that only became louder. They became one in a sweaty, tangled mess. The sweat glistened on their bodies.

Bucky sat up and rolled on top of her. Now that he was in control, his thrusts became rougher and harder to control. She dug her nails into his back. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as a second, even stronger orgasm, flowed through her.

He held his elbows by her head, and kept thrusting, even deeper than before. If his goal was to make Mira have multiple, powerful orgasms, he definitely achieved it. Every time she tightened around him, it brought his own climax closer and closer.

“Shit, Mira...Fuck!”

Mira screamed his name, abandoning all fears of being heard. It was like music to his ears. He came in a blinding moment, pulling out and releasing on her stomach, then collapsing on top of her. His head laid gently on her chest.

"You're amazing." She told him. She ran her fingers through his sweaty hair and tried to catch her breath. “You.. almost reached the... record.”

“How many... was it?” He asked.

“Five.”

“How... many is the record?”

“Seven.”

“Was that with the vibrator?” She nodded. “I’ll remember that.”

“Thanks for remembering to pull out,” she told him. “You the real mvp.”

“Can you please remember to pick up birth control this week?”

“I keep forgetting, I’ll do it tomorrow.”

“We’re also out of ice cream.”

Mira gasped. “Sam said he picked some up!”

Bucky shook his head and sat up. “Only popsicles.”

“Wow, fuck that guy.” She tried sitting up, when she felt her thighs starting to throb. “I’m gonna feel this one for days.”

“Sorry, I was a little rough.”

_He’s so cute._ Bucky wiped the cum off her stomach with her towel and they started getting dressed. Mira wrapped her towel around her neck and kissed him.

“People say if your man wipes the cum off of you after sex he’s a keeper.”

Bucky laughed. “Why would people say that?”

She shrugged. “People are weird. By the way, what was the thing you were thinking about this morning?”

“I can’t tell you yet, but I feel like it’s going to change things for the better.”

"Tony is giving me helicopter privilege?"

"Never."

"Clint finally agreed to teach me archery?"

"Nope."

“Are you buying me a motorcycle?”

“Hell no, I’ve seen you drive.”

“Bucky, now you know I’m a great driver! Remember when you got food poisoning and I drove you to the hospital?”

“Remember how I didn’t have to vomit until you made a sharp turn on a side street?”

She pulled her pants onto her aching legs and picked up her gym bag. “I told your ass not to eat those blackberries and for some fucked up reason, you took it as a challenge!”

“Yeah, well, I’m competitive.”

“I know, and I think it’s very sexy.”

They walked out to the elevator. Bucky reached for Mira’s hand, and she took it without thought. Their hands naturally fit together, just like they did.

When the elevator stopped at their floor, Sam was standing outside with an official S.H.I.E.L.D. envelope in one hand, and a gym bag in the other.

“I was just coming down there. Y’all have a mission.”

Mira gasped and took the envelope from him. “Our first mission together!”

"Yup, Agent Hill just dropped it off."

"Did she tell you anything about it?"

He shook his head. "Nah, she just told me that it was highly confidential and you're probably gonna like it."

Bucky wasn’t excited. It was hard enough going on missions with Steve and watching his closest friend on earth be reckless, but Mira? He knew she could do it, she was total badass. She was just impulsive as hell, and he was _in love_ with her! If anything happened to her on the job, God knows what he’d do…

“So exciting.” He said halfheartedly. _Exciting for you, at least._

 


	3. Rough Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still getting better at action scenes, sorry if this is a little rushed. I hope you like it!

Two weeks, a ring fitting, and a waxing session later, Mira was fully ready for her mission with Bucky.

The two weeks were spent re-capping. They were going to a gala for noteworthy scientists in upstate New York disguised as Dr. Liev and his wife, Rebecca. A suspected Hydra scientist was going to the gala to gather intelligence for the organization, and they had to find a way to arrest and interrogate him without putting the other scientists in danger. They knew he was a womanizer, a drunk, and one of the most intelligent men on earth. They needed to convince him to abandon Hydra and take all of his secrets to S.H.I.E.L.D.

The ring was for special effect, it was gaudy and expensive. Mira was so not feeling it.

The waxing session was for a gown that Mira ended up not wearing at all in the end. Mira was also not feeling that.

They straightened her hair, stuck her in a tight, white, floor-length gown and told her not to use any AAVE. She was part of the gentry now, the elite. For a night, she was an accessory.

Bucky stared at her hair for the longest time. She looked so different. She was practicing her new manner of speech, she was walking differently, she was memorizing her aliases backstory for hours a day. She was great at getting into character, but he was so glad that this was only a character.

“Well, I certainly don’t look like myself.” She said. “I’ve never had straight hair before. It doesn’t look terrible, but man does it feel weird.”

He turned at his own reflection. He’d been shaven, his hair was cut, he was wearing contact lenses and glasses. “It doesn’t look terrible, but it also doesn’t look like you.” He was speaking to himself as much as he was speaking to her.

“And what do I look like?”

He grinned. “I don’t know...Like no one I’ve seen before.”

She blushed and ran her hands through her hair. “Well, you’re like no one I’ve met before.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“It’s a very good thing, baby.”

A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent knocked on the door. “Are you ready in there?”

Mira cleared her throat and got into character. “Yes.” She took Bucky’s hand. He was shaking. She looked up at him with concern. “Are you ready?”

He swallowed his anxiety and forced himself to answer her. “Of course, I’m in good hands.”

Mira knew him well enough not to believe him, but it was hard to convince Bucky not to go through with something he’s already started. She squeezed his hand supportively and they walked out together.

* * *

In the car, they equipped themselves. There was a knife in Mira’s clutch, pistols strapped to both of her thighs and a small surprise hidden in her bra. Bucky had at least three guns somewhere on his tuxedo jacket, and a knife concealed in his pocket. Both of his hands were covered by black gloves to conceal the metal.

There were a few other agents posted throughout the gala disguised as catering staff and security guards. There were two suspected Hydra agents on the security staff who were being monitored closely while Mira and Bucky worked.

And they _worked_.

“Dr. Liev, tell me what it is your field is. I’m not sure I’ve heard of you or your lovely wife.” The scientist who asked the question gave Mira the creeps. Unfortunately, she had to smile through it. “I would also be interested in knowing what you do, Mrs. Liev.”

“Neurological medicine. I’m trying to create a more intensive treatment for disorders of the brain. My wife is a model.”

“Ah, what kind of modelling?”

“High fashion, runway, things of that nature.”

“I can certainly see why…”

_Gross._ “I’m going to get something to drink, do you want anything, my dear?”

“Sure.”

Mira walked over to the caterer holding the red wine on his saucer and picked up two glasses. Only two more hours. She took a long drink and a deep breath, then returned to Bucky. While he talked to the doctor, she noticed a very familiar guard across the room, and he was staring straight at her.

_Fuck me, why did it have to be him?_ She tried to remain calm. She looked away and tugged on Bucky’s arm.

“Honey, I see our table.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Alright. let’s sit then.”

Mira looked up again and the guard was gone. She pulled Bucky into the hallway.

“What happened?”

She started hyperventilating. Bucky had her sit on the floor while he calmed her down. She’d stayed in character for an hour and a panic attack of all things was pulling her out of it. “Brock Rumlow is here.”

His eyes widened. “You sure?”

“I’m positive! I’d know him anywhere! He saw me. He knows I’m here.”

He thought quickly, keeping his eyes on her’s. “Ok, ok, we’ll be fine, we just have to be extra careful for the rest of the night. Can you go back out there?”

She caught her breath and nodded. “I have to. I’m a fucking agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“You’re also a human being.”

“Bucky, I can go!”

“Fine…”

They walked back out to the party. Mira kept her eyes to the ground. Bucky scanned the room for Rumlow and the Hydra doctor.

“If he was here before, he isn’t anymore.” He assured her. “But I do see our target.”

Mira quickly got back into character. “I’ve got him.”

She picked up a glass of champagne and  walked over to the doctor. He was a gangly, red headed man. His eyes were emotionless grey circles that looked straight through her. He took the glass from her with a grin.

“It’s not every day I see a beauty like you at a scientist gala.” He said, purring with a heavy German accent.

She laughed. “Clever observation. I am not a scientist. My husband, Dr. Liev, is a scientist. He is in the middle of a conversation, so I decided to come introduce myself to you.”

“Ah, I’m Dr. Torrence.”

“I’m Rebecca Liev.”

They clinked glasses together. Bucky spoke to a different scientist while keeping an eye on her. She was good, no doubt about that.

“What brings you here, Dr. Torrence. Shouldn’t you be working on your genetics projects?”

“I am, that’s what I’m here for. I wish to stand on the shoulders of giants.”

“Try not to fall off.” She kept her eyes on him. “Listen, I must be frank with you. My husband is great but he just doesn’t satisfy me anymore. He satisfies me intellectually but not… sexually. I need someone who does both.”

“You think I am the one?”

“I know you are the one.”

Mira remembered that he was a womanizer, and he was falling for her trap. It was hard not to when she was wearing that dress.

“There is tiny room nearby where we can talk about this more.”

“Show me the way…”

_Too easy. I wonder if this works on Bucky._

* * *

“Okay, but did you tie him up before or after revealing your actual identity?” Bucky asked while looking at the unconscious doctor, tied to a chair with a bloody nose.

“After, but I’m not sure he would’ve cared had I done it before.” She sighed. “He touched my ass.”

“I’ll try not to punch him too hard for that.” He kissed her on the forehead. “You did really well, Doll.”

“Thank you, baby. Let’s wake him up.”

Mira splashed his face with champagne. He woke up suddenly and saw them standing in front of him. 

“You must be Dr. Liev.” He said. “You have a beautiful, but rather aggressive, wife.”

“Yeah, that’s why I married her. What does Hydra have you doing, Dr. Torrence?”

He smiled. “You’re both S.H.I.E.L.D?”

“Yeah, except he has anger issues and my case is a little… unique.” She made his chair float above the ground, then slammed him back down. “What the fuck does Hydra have you doing?!”

“Heil Hydra!”

Mira and Bucky exchanged irritated looks. She gave him the sign to start using physical force.

“I told you he has anger issues, why would you tempt fate?”

Bucky punched him in the face. “Tell me what Hydra has you doing.”

“If you say ‘Heil Hydra’ again, I’ll snap your neck.”

The doctor looked up at Mira, his head cocked to the side. He licked the blood running over his lips and a creepy smile spread across his face. “Are you Agent Wilson, by any chance?” He asked.

“What?”

“Rumlow is looking for you. He’ll be happy to know I saw you here.”

Mira was confused. She leaned in closer and held a knife to his throat. “Is he not here?”

“No, no. He’s on S.H.I.E.L.D’s list. That would be idiotic.” He told her. “Almost as idiotic as dragging me away in plain sight.”

A red light, like that of a sniper rifle, appeared on Mira’s chest. Bucky pushed her out the way and shots started firing in through the window. The doctor, in a final attempt to please Hydra, jumped in front of the bullet, killing himself before Bucky and Mira could get anything from him.

“MOTHERFUCKER!” Mira shouted in frustration.

Hydra agents tried breaking down the door and Mira forced the door to break in their direction, pushing them backwards. Bucky pulled her out of the room and sent a distress signal to the other S.H.I.E.L.D agents. Mira pulled the fire alarm.

A Hydra agent, pushed backwards by the door, shot at Mira, hitting her shoulder. She screamed in pain and twisted his neck. Bucky shot at the Hydra running behind them while Mira tried to stop the bleeding.

“He shot me!”

“How bad is the bleeding?”

“I’ll live.”

“That’s not what I asked!”

“I’m bleeding a lot!”

"See? This is what I was afraid of!" He wrapped his arm around her waist, scooping her over his shoulder. She let out a sigh of surrender and used her telekinesis the rest of the way out of the building.

“This is so undignified! We’re fighting Hydra agents and I’m draped over your shoulder like a damsel in distress.”

“You are the least damsel in distress person I know, please just let me be overprotective.”

The other agents were busy evacuating the doctors while Bucky tried to get Mira back to the car. A lone Hydra agent was seen hiding in the corner with a pistol aimed at Mira’s head. She spotted him, pulled a smoke grenade from her bra and set it off. _Best job in the world_.

* * *

Once everyone was out and safe, Bucky put Mira down in the car and took a look at her shoulder. The bullet went right through. Blood was running down her white dress. Luckily, that was the only real wound between the two of them. The mission wasn't exactly a success, but it definitely wasn't as catastrophic as it could've been. 

Bucky cleaned the wound while the ambulances arrived. Mira stared into the distance. She was so confused. She saw Rumlow! He was there! He was definitely there! There’s no way it was anyone but him! Was there?...

"We should get you to a hospital."

“I saw him.”

“He wasn’t there, Mira.”

“You don’t believe me?”

He sighed and moved the hair out of her face. “I saw every face in that building, he wasn’t there.”

“Bucky, I swear, I saw him.”

He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “Have you talked to Sam lately?”

“I’m not going crazy!”

“I know you aren’t, but you might be traumatized or something. Like how I can’t go to the dentist.”

She huffed. “I saw him! I swear I did!”

“Maybe you did, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he was there.” She rolled her eyes and he gently took her hand. “Talk to Sam in the morning.”

“Okay, but I saw him.”

“I know.”

 


	4. Crazy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been SO LONG and I feel like a dick.  
> I had to do some re-writes.  
> I'm also finishing high school and working on another fic at the moment...  
> BUT HERE IT IS.  
> ENJOY. LEAVE A COMMENT. TELL YOUR FRIENDS.  
> ily

Sam has done a lot of weird things to make Mira feel better. Once he baked her an entire two-tier cake. Another time, in high school, he egged the house of the boy who broke her heart. A couple months ago she was missing female company so he put on a wig and some lipstick and pretended to be Natasha.

This time he kidnapped her from her room, and had her cocooned in a heavy duvet with a large mug of chai tea and a big chocolate chip muffin. She glared at him from beneath the duvet cocoon while Steve sketched something at his desk in the background.

“You know why Bucky asked me to talk to you, right?” He asked.

She sighed. “I know only three things right now. One, I could be watching Orange is the New Black right now. Two, if Steve wasn’t here I’d mess you up for wrapping me up like this. Three, you’re a well-meaning dick. Do you not think I’m gonna escape?”

“I’m not stopping you.” Steve said.

“Yes, Mira, I do think you’ll escape. You saw someone from a very traumatic event in your life, and we need to address it,” Sam told her. “Besides, it’s bonding time.”

“Sam, I know you like the back of my own damn hand. We don’t need to bond, and I don't need to talk. Everything’s fine. It was probably nothing all along!”

“Let’s just talk then.”

“Sam!”

“I made you tea!”

“Which I can’t drink because you mummified me!” Steve tried not to laugh and turned his chair away. “You let him do it, Steve. I thought we were tight, dude!”

“I was not paying close enough attention to either of you.”

“I hope your 2H pencil breaks.”

Steve gasped. “You bought me this pencil set so we could draw together.”

“That was before you let this happen!”

She struggled out of the duvet and took a sip of the tea. “Shit, it’s good… Alright, I’ll stay and listen, but I might not participate as much as you want me to.”

Sam grinned. “Tell me about the mission. Tell me what happened.”

“I got shot in shoulder and that hurt almost as much as that time you pushed me down the hill and landed back first on a rock.”

“What happened before that, Mira?”

“I seduced a doctor and then he threw himself in front of a sniper rifle aimed for my tits.”

“Did that affect you?”

“It irritated me.” The doctor’s suicide was an inconvenience, and a little brutal, but it wasn’t anything she could see herself losing sleep over. “I couldn’t do my job without that ginger pervert! How dare he screw up my day like that?”

“What happened before that?”

She took a deep breath and decided to just tell the truth. “I… had a panic attack...” Steve turned back around and Sam leaned in close. “Because I thought I saw Brock Rumlow dressed as a security guard at the gala and he was looking right at me.”

“He was there?” questioned Steve.

She shook her head. “The doctor said he’s in hiding.”

“But you really thought he was there?” Sam asked.

“Yes, okay, I really thought he was there at the time. He looked real, he looked… Menacing. I freaked the fuck out. It’s not a big deal, I know better now.”

“Has anything else like this happened since you escaped Hydra?’

Mira looked away from them and took a huge bite of her muffin. “Where’d you get this muffin? Starbucks?”

“Have you been seeing things this whole time without telling me?”

“In my defense, I haven’t told anyone.”

“Not even Bucky?”

“Especially not Bucky! I don’t want him worrying about me!”

“He’s always worried about you! He doesn’t necessarily show it, but he is. That’s why he told you to talk to Sam.” Steve told her. “It’s in his nature, it always has been. He wants to protect you.”

I know. “He shouldn’t worry, I’m fine. He knows I could handle myself before all of this, and I can handle myself now.”

“Mira, you-”

“Steve, please. I’ve taken enough time off, I just want to get back to my job and be normal again, be Mira again. Actually, you know what, I’m better than normal. I have y’all, I have Bucky, I have my powers, I have everything I could possibly want.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Sam asked. “It’s good to know your limits, Mira. You can take more time off if you haven’t recovered.”

“I feel useless when I’m not working, you know me. I can’t sit in the tower all day watching you go on big adventures. That’s like going back to square one.”

“Just consider it.”

“I might.”

She picked up her muffin and tea and walked out of the room. Steve and Sam looked at each other with worry. Mira was not okay, at all. She knew she wasn’t okay. Why wasn’t she getting help?

* * *

Mira couldn’t sleep.

She hadn’t been able to sleep regularly for quite some time.

When she couldn’t sleep, she slipped out of Bucky’s arms and wandered the tower in silence. Most of the time she was alone, but sometimes other Avengers would also not be able to sleep and join her. She had a lot of good conversations with Natasha and Bruce during these times.

This night, she was alone. She decided to wander to the kitchen for some ice cream. She had her Spotify play Billie Holliday to keep her company, her vocals wrapped around her like a warm hug.

When she had her ice cream and was ready to dig in, she heard a noise that sounded like footsteps come from the hallway. It sounded like someone was walking through casually, but the footsteps were too light to be Bruce, too heavy to be Natasha. At first, she ignored it.

“It could be Clint.”

She scooped a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and sighed with pleasure when she heard the footsteps again. This time they walked in the opposite direction. She looked up and saw blonde hair and bare feet.

“Okay, it ain’t Clint…”

She got up and ran into the hallway, following the direction of the footsteps. The figure ran down the stairs into Tony’s lab.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Tony gets pretty bitchy when people touch his shit…”

She rushed into the lab as fast as she could, trying not to lose sight of whoever, or whatever that was. She stopped on her heels when she noticed that it’s stopped running.

“I don’t know who you are but you’re not supposed to be down here.”

“What do you mean, Mira?” The stranger asked. Mira knew that voice. It turned around and grinned. A bullet wound sitting between bloodshot blue eyes.

“Kat?” She shook her head and tried to knock some sense into it. “This isn’t real… This isn’t real…”

“I’m very real, Mira.” ‘Kat’ said. “I’m always with you.”

“No, no, no…”

“I knew you wouldn’t believe. Why would you? Only you can see me, and you did see me get my brains blown out.”

“You. Are. NOT. Real. I am sleepwalking again.”

'Kat' cocked her head to the side. “Is that what Sam told you?” Mira was too stunned to speak. Her hands were shaking. 'Kat' reached out and held them. Her cold fingers made Mira jump. “You’ve got to calm down, okay?”

“Why should I? A dead friend is in my friend’s lab telling me that she’s actually haunting me, and I haven’t been imagining things.”

'Kat' looked down at Mira’s hands. “You’re so warm, so alive... So strong. I’m really fucking glad the serum worked.”

“Please leave. Bucky is already worried about me enough, you’re making me look nuts.”

“Bucky doesn’t seem too worried… I hear things, little insignificant conversations you don’t notice. Pepper was talking to him about rings just a few nights ago. Sounds like he likes a girl who’s a little ‘off’.”

“Really? He’d marry me?”

“Yes, bitch, you didn’t know?!

“Now you sound like Adisa.”

‘Kat’ blinked her eyes and became ‘Adisa’. Mira rolled her eyes and stepped back.

“This is getting fucking weird, and obviously sleep deprivation is getting to me, so I’m gonna go back to bed now. Bye, Felicia.”

“Would you say ‘yes’?” It asked. “Would you say ‘yes’ if Bucky asked you to get hitched?”

Mira sighed. “I want to…”

“But?”

“He doesn’t need me. Not the way I am now; I’m seeing weird shapeshifting ghosts in the middle of the night, fucking up missions, and acting like a reckless teenager all the fucking time. He needs stability, and I just… I can’t give that to him anymore.”

“Hmm… you should think on that a bit more.”

“I’ve thought about it enough.”

“Really? Because I don’t think you have a clue what Bucky really thinks about you.” ‘Adisa’ disappeared.

* * *

Mira quietly made her way back to the bedroom with a frustration headache. Every few steps she’d think of a possible explanation, call herself stupid and take a deep breath. I’m crazy, that’s all there is to it. I’m completely crazy.

She walked into the room and Bucky sat up. He rubbed his tired eyes and noticed her shaking hands.

“Where have you been?” He whispered. “You look scared.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, it was nothing.” She replied.

_Sure it was_. “Well, come back to bed, Doll. You need sleep.” She nodded and he pulled her back into his arms. The metal one wrapped around her waist and he kissed her behind her ear. “I love you.”

She was so overwhelmed by the whole night, tears began to rush down her cheeks even as she closed her eyes and tried to sleep. _He doesn’t need me._ _When is he going to realize he doesn’t need me?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter has a very awesome special guest!


	5. Good Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor arrives!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to have this up yesterday but it was my birthday so I partied.   
> Hope you like it, leave a comment <3

_Let me get up and take something for this headache before I kill Bucky in my sleep…_

Mira was so drained. Everything from the night before had taken an enormous toll. She got up and took a shower, put on a t-shirt and shorts, made herself a cup of tea, took two Advil, and waited for everyone else to wake up.

_I wish Tony was awake so he could show me how something works. That’s always entertaining.  Maybe he’ll finally explain how the suit works to me._

Suddenly a beam of light flashed down and Thor appeared. Mira blinked, completely unphased by everything. She’d met Thor before, they got along very well, she even made him cookies. Months ago she would’ve been so excited to see him, but living in Avengers Tower completely desensitized her to everything.

“Odinson.” She said with a grin.

He smiled and kissed her hand. “Beautiful Lady Mira, how are you?”

She shrugged. “I’m cool, how are you?”

“I am well, a bit tired.” He gestured to the tower. “Is this your new place of residence?”

She nodded. “I’ve been living here for a few months now. You’ve missed quite a bit.”

“Tell me all about it.”

“Sit down.” He sat next to her and gave her all of his attention. She took a deep breath. “Ok so I am currently in a romantic relationship with Bucky Barnes -you’ve met him, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good. So, we’re together and I got kidnapped by Hydra and I met this doctor and she gave me the super soldier serum. Long story short, I’m a super soldier now with telekinesis, and Bucky asked me to move in with him so I did.”

“Wonderful! Are you finally a field agent?”

“Yup.”

“Lady Mira, this is amazing! We should celebrate! We should have a feast with lots of beer!”

She giggled. “You do remember what happened the last time you took me somewhere and there was alcohol, don’t you?”

“Vaguely.”

_“I AM SO DRUNK!”_

_“You are…”_

_“How are you not drunk?!”_

_“I’m Asgardian.”_

_“Why are you wearing my lipstick?”_

_“You kissed me.”_

_“Oh no…”_

“Oh yes, now I remember.”

“Now I physically can’t get drunk.”

“This is the same serum that Steven and James have, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“This is so amazing to me, I’m so happy for you.”

“Thank you. I feel…” The words had to be forced through her teeth. She cleared her throat and smiled a weak smile. “So happy. What have you been up to?”

“The same as everyone. Keeping people safe.”

“Does it ever get hard?” She asked. “Does it ever feel like a burden?”

“Heroes aren’t always happy, Lady Mira. Warriors see a lot of suffering, they experience it, too. Why do you ask?”

Mira opened her mouth to respond when Tony walked in and grinned. “So you two have met.”

_I change my mind, Tony can go back to sleep_. “We met a while ago.” She told him.

“Good morning, Stark.”

“Mornin’, did you hear she’s dating Metallica now?”

“Jesus, Tony, I already told him.”

“Everything?”

“Yes, everything!”

“Did you know that there’s a game in this house to guess what your kid will look like?”

“Now I do.”

“It’s a very cute kid. His eyes but your hair. You look like someone who would name their kid ‘Sunset’ or something like that.”

She laughed. “Shut the hell up.”

“‘Dandelion’?”

Thor grinned. “That would be cute.”

“Don’t encourage them.”

* * *

Having Thor over was such a great distraction. All the Avengers sat in the living room with beers, reminiscing about everything. Bucky sat between Mira’s legs and she idly played with his hair while they listened to everyone’s stories.

It’d been awhile since they all just sat and talked to each other. Those were always Mira’s happiest moments in the Tower. They never had enough peace.

Natasha decided to tell her favorite story about Mira the trainee.

“I met this woman two years ago.” She said, gently laying her head on Mira’s shoulder. “She was this teeny, shy girl who just wanted to kick some ass. I was training one other person, whose name is completely irrelevant because they didn’t pass the exams.”

“Leo Elliot.”

“Thanks, Mira. Anyway, this kid was always harassing Mira. He was constantly touching her and followed her everywhere. I told him off a lot, I warned him to back off or else he’d lose my training and possibly his balls.”

“That worked for a while. He stopped talking to me and following me and touching me. He just stared at me and grunted as a form of communication.”

“He grunted?” Steve asked.

“It was so weird, and I can’t even express to you how incredibly uncomfortable it made me. It was the only time I remember actually wanting him to talk to me.”

“Yeah, but then he fucking follows her into the locker room! Now he was a foot taller than her, weighed about 80 pounds more than her, and was basically a brute. He had her by the neck against the lockers in her underwear, her feet were just barely touching the ground. She knees him in the dick, slams his head against the lockers and by the time I get in there, he’s crying for help because she’s dislocating his shoulder.”

“Asshole tried to put his hands down my pants.”

“I have a new favorite Mira story!” Clint exclaimed, clapping and cheering. “Bucky, you are just the luckiest man on the planet.”

He rolled his eyes. “She’s alright.” She kicked him in his side.

“What’s your favorite Mira story, lover boy?” Tony asked.

“Don’t have one.”

“Seriously?”

“You want me to choose one singular occurrence over the course of our long relationship? Really? She’s amazing all the time.”

Mira sighed. “Damn, that’s good. You’re getting really smooth in your old age.”

“Shut up.”

“Grandpa Sexy.”

“I don’t think I have a favorite Mira story either.” Steve said.

“Really? I have a favorite Steve story.” Mira told him. “I took Steve grocery shopping with me once and-”

Steve covered his face. “Oh God, no.”

“We’re in the market and he picks up a bottle of agave and asks if we should get it. I say sure. He starts talking about how he read about it in a magazine once about healthy alternatives to sugar and then I start quoting the article word for word. He says ‘yeah, that’s it!’ and that’s how I found out that Steven reads Women’s Health Magazine.”

They all started to laugh.

“It has really good advice!”

“Don’t laugh at him, he’s so cute. He’s so cute and gentle, and I wouldn’t want Captain America any other way.”

“It’s too late, but thank you.”

* * *

When the night was done, everyone went to sleep except for Bucky and Steve. They were getting all the bottles off the ground and talking about the things they used to when they were just two kids from Brooklyn.

“You know that pizza place we used to go to all the time, what was that called? It had that fucking ugly green awning on the outside. The owner used to give you a hard time about being skinny… What was the name of that place?”

“Aliberti’s!”

“Aliberti’s!”

“Oh God, that owner was nuts. He used to give me extra slices because he thought I was a starving artist.”

“It was ridiculous. I’d never let you go hungry, everyone knew that!”

“Apparently not everyone.”

“Is that place still open?”

“No, I think it closed a few years back. Why?”

Bucky ran his fingers through his hair. “Okay, only you, Pepper, and Sam know about this, don’t tell a soul.”

“I won’t.”

“I want to take Mira to Brooklyn next weekend, then I’m gonna ask her to marry me.”

Steve gasped and smiled from ear to ear. “ARE YOU SHITTING ME?”

“Hush!”

“This is great!”

“I know, Steve.”

“You two make such a good team, I’m so happy. You should do it on the Brooklyn Bridge… Too public, nevermind.”

“We’ll work everything out tomorrow. Mira has to interrogate one of the Hydra officers from the gala, then she’s going to dinner with her sister and Pepper.”

“I can’t believe it... You’re getting married, and she’s just the cat’s meow.”

“You gotta calm down.”

“No I don’t!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's not enough Bruce in this fic... I will work on that.


	6. Bad Omens and Good Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's that Bruce I promised.

**About 1 AM.**

As strange as this is, chasing random figures in the middle of the night was starting to feel normal to Mira. As long as this one didn’t have the weird power to change faces.

She chased the blonde hair down to the first floor. She could feel herself having a nervous breakdown. Her fingers were crossed hoping no one would wake up and see it. This time she wanted to kill the ghost. She wanted to kill the memory. She wanted to be normal.

The ghost stopped in front of the door and turned around with Kat’s face and Kat’s smile. The bullet in Kat’s forehead. The blue coloring of Kat’s dead lips and Kat’s dead nails. Kat was dead, but Kat was here all the same. So, Mira was crazy.

“Will you just leave me alone?” Mira asked it.

‘Kat’ giggled. “But it’s been so much fun seeing you again!”

Mira stepped forward confrontationally. “You can’t see a damn thing, you’re dead.”

“Yeah, but not to you. You still have nightmares about me.” ‘Kat’ said. “You wake up in the middle of the night crying and shaking. Bucky holds you and tells you he loves you and he’ll always be there for you. You can never get back to sleep can you? Is Bucky not enough to pull you out of it? Do you not love him anymore?”

Mira’s teeth clenched, her hands formed tight fists. _How dare you?_ “Shut the fuck up, you’re dead. You’re dead! I saw you get shot in the face! Rumlow threw you body at me, then he laughed. He fucking laughed because he knew he’d hurt me. I let him hurt me. That’s the only reason you’re still here! You’re here because I’m hurt, not because of anything Bucky has done.”

‘Kat’s grin spread from ear to ear. Her eyes darkened. Mira was so afraid, she almost back away and ran back to bed.

“You admit that you’re hurt?”

“Yes! I’m hurt, and I’m angry, and I’m scared as hell!”

“Scared of what?!”

“Of losing all of this! Of losing the man I love and all of my friends and Sam because you’re eating away at my brain!”

“I won’t go away until you let this out.”

“I CAN’T!” She reached her shaking arms out and grabbed ‘Kat’ by the neck. “If I let people see what’s happened to me, they’ll think I’m crazy. They’ll take him away from me. He’ll realize he doesn’t need me… I can’t live without him.”

“You seem a little crazier grabbing thin air by it’s invisible neck, just saying.”

Mira blinked and ‘Kat’ was gone. Her hands were shaking in midair. Her lungs felt like they’d explode. She was so frustrated, she could’ve broken something.  She backed against the wall and covered her face with her hands. She tried crying silently. She still didn’t want anyone to hear. It was right. So, Mira was crazy.

She was hitting herself on the head and her stomach was churning. She couldn’t believe this was her life now. This is who she was, and she was so afraid to tell anyone.

As she sat on the wall, she heard footsteps approaching her. She couldn’t even look at who it was, they had to have heard all of that. It wasn’t Bucky, she knew what his footsteps sounded like.

“You think I’m crazy...”

The person sat next to her and put their arm around her. “I couldn’t if I tried.” She looked up and saw Bruce smiling supportively back at her. She didn’t see him smile all that often, so it was even more of a comfort. “I turn green, Mira. Nothing is crazy to me.”

“You should go back to bed, I’m hopeless. You have your own life, your own problems, your own research. You need to focus on that. It’s bad enough Tony has made you and Sam the team ‘psychologists’.”

“I’m not being a psychologist, I’m not even that type of doctor. I’m here because I’m your friend and you need my help. I _am_ an Avenger after all.”

“You really think you can help me?”

“I can try. Who better to help a mess, than a mess?” He asked. “Let’s get dressed and take a walk.”

“I don’t wanna move.”

He got up and pulled her up. “If you move I’ll explain how radiation changes dna composition.”

“Don’t bribe me with science.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh God, now I really want to know, damn you Banner!”

* * *

Mira and Bruce walked the streets. She covered her head in a dark hoodie and kept her bloodshot eyes down. She hadn’t just walked through New York in so long. This was her city, this was the city she grew up in, this was the city she found love in.  It felt like an old friend, gently welcoming her back even if she wasn’t quite ready. Even though, in her heart, she knew Bruce wasn’t really going to tell her about radiation.

Bruce handed her a stick of gum and she smiled and accepted it. “So, when did you start chasing ghosts around?”

She sighed. “Last night.”

“Are you sure?”

“You asked when I started _chasing_ ghosts, not when I started _seeing_ them.”

“Which leads me to my next question…”

“A couple weeks after I was rescued from Hydra. I saw Kat standing at my bedroom door and screamed, so Bucky stayed up with me all night.” She rolled her eyes. “I really wish he didn’t care about me. I want him to be happy.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow. “He could not be happier, trust me. The more time he spends with you, the happier he is. Where is all of this coming from?”

She stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Just a feeling…”

“Any other feelings?”

“Your life is better without me.”

“Also untrue.”

“How?”

“What would Avengers Tower be without Mira Wilson? Depressing. You add levity. Even Tony thinks that, don’t ask him to admit it to you though.”

“I don’t feel like levity.” She told him. “I feel weighed down. I feel like I’m carrying all this eight on my shoulders. I’m scared… Can I tell you a secret?”

“Shoot.”

“Two months ago, I had a pregnancy scare.”

Bruce’s eyes widened. He pulled Mira off to the side. “You what?”

“I missed my period, I had a positive pregnancy test. I was gonna leave so that you guys didn't have to deal with me.”

He wanted to question that last part, that was the one that broke his heart. Everyone would've helped her out, how could she even suggest that they wouldn't want to 'deal with her'? He decided to just leave it alone, for now. “What happened?”

“It was a false alarm. The gynecologist found nothing. I was totally relieved.”

“Did you want the baby?”

“I’ve always wanted a baby.”

“What was wrong?”

“I see things at night, Bruce, normal mothers don’t do that. I also know Bucky isn’t ready.”

“God, no wonder Bucky has panic attacks when you don’t answer your phone for a day. You have to tell him this stuff. It’s bad enough Steve still tries to pick alleyway fights when people act creepy at bars, as if no one knows who he is.”

“It was funny when that one guy pissed his pants with fear.”

Bruce laughed. “Yeah, it was.”

“You’re right, though. I should tell him more. I just don’t want him worrying.”

Bruce put his hands on her shoulders. “He worries more when he doesn’t know how you are.”

Mira wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank you for this.”

He returned the hug. "Oh we’re not done. I know a 24 hour diner. We’re gonna get sweet crepes and talk about radiation.”

“Oh, you’re actually explaining it this time?”

“When have I promised to explain it before?”

“Last month!”

“Whoops.”

 


	7. Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's only the beginning.

"Yes... Perfect." Mira exclaimed. She’d managed to braid one side of her hair and pin it without any trouble. Bucky was laughing at her, she could see him covering his face in the mirror. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing."

"Your mouth says 'nothing' but the fact that you're laughing shows your ass." He laughed more and she threw a pillow at him. “What’s so funny?!”

He himself was getting ready to go out on a mission with Natasha. He was packing his knife into its holster while Mira applied lipstick. “You’re so cute and focused, that’s all. I promise.”

“Bucky, you’re a good liar, but you can’t lie to me.” She checked herself once more in the mirror. “I know I get hype when I finish my hair, but it takes a while to get everything on point like this. Black girl hair is cruel…”

“I guess I really can’t lie to you.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Still, isn't it a good thing that I can't lie to you?”

“It’s definitely one of your better attributes.”

“Where’s Adisa taking you again?”

“Some French place in Greenwich Village. God, I’m so sad Pepper can’t come anymore.” She unplugged her phone and stuffed that in her purse with her wallet. The home screen on her phone was a selfie she’d taken at Coney Island with Bucky. She was winking at the camera while he was in the background looking vaguely irritated by the heat but still incredibly sexy. It was her absolute favorite picture.

She wanted to go back to Coney Island with him. She wanted to go on road trips with him when they weren’t busy with work. She also wanted to tell him about all the pain she was struggling with, but she couldn’t. Even after the great talk with Bruce the night before, she found it impossible to open up.

“What’s your mission?”

Bucky shrugged. “No one ever tells me anything until we get there, I’m just there for aesthetics.”

She laughed. “The true S.H.I.E.L.D way.”

“Hey, where were you last night?” He asked. “I felt you get out of bed.”

She looked at him and sighed. The corners of her mouth forced themselves into an insincere grin. He couldn’t lie to her, but she could definitely hide a thing or two from him.

“I just went for a little walk, that’s all.”

“Okay, was something bothering you?”

“Yeah… but hopefully it won’t be anymore.”

“Good, I hate when you’re upset.” He held her face and kissed her. “I should be back tomorrow morning. Oh, did you wash that lacy pink thing?”

She nodded. “Did you want me in that lacy pink thing?”

“Temporarily, of course, but yes.”

“Boy, if you don’t go, I’ll be tempted to give you what you want right now.”

He smiled. “If I had time, I’d take you up on that offer.”

“Go!”

He grabbed his handgun and his mask, then started to head. “I’m going, Doll, I’m going...” 

Mira adjusted the bodice of her dress and groaned. _I’m lying to my boyfriend and my tits are uncomfortable. Great. Fucking great. At least I still have music to look forward to on the way to the restaurant._

* * *

The two sisters sat in the restaurant together, Mira closely examining the wine menu while Adisa explained her current living situation.

“He snores, and he smokes weed while I’m studying and stinks up the apartment, but he’s my friend I guess.”

“Does he pay the bills?” Mira asked. “If he don’t pay no bills, you need to drop him.”

“He’s got a good job, he pays bills. He’s just the worst roommate ever.” Adisa let out a heavy sigh and decided to check out the wines for herself. “God help me, I wish I could trade living situations with you for a day.”

Mira laughed. “The tower is under constant threat of terrorism, are you sure?”

“But you have the greatest roommates a girl could have.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” She said with a smile. “What happened to that girl that you hated, what’s her name? Patrice?”

“Punk Ass Patty. She got expelled!”

“For what?”

“Plagiarism, naturally. Stole everything she could from me and now she’s finally getting what she deserves.”

“Wow! Y’all were close to physically fighting for a while there.”

“Yup, she was destined to catch these hands. Anyway, enough about me, how are you? How have things been? How’s Bucky?”

“It’s cool.”

Adisa nodded slowly. Mira avoided eye contact with her and she instantly knew there was more to this story. “Good, care to elaborate?”

“It’s just cool…”

“Mira, hun, if something happened you can tell me. I’m your damn sister. I’m your blood.”

“Nothing happened, I’m just tired. Work is stressful, I’m not seeing Bucky as much. Typical stuff.”

“Aww, I hope you’ll find time to relax!” She took her hands, her rings felt cold against Mira’s knuckles, but her touch was warm. Adisa was a natural comforter, always has been. “Listen, I didn't get a chance to tell you at the birthday party, but Sam told me everything about all the Hydra shit over the phone. You are… You are just the bravest woman I know. I can’t believe you came out of that with a level head!”

_Right…_

“And then Sam told me how Bucky went out there alone looking for you, my heart broke.”

“Yeah…”

“So, seriously, if you ever need to talk, you can.”

“Let’s focus on happy things for the rest of the night.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

She cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She felt like she was back to square one, at any moment she would see ‘Kat’ dressed as a waitress walking by with someone’s wine. She would see ‘Rumlow’ at the table in the back. She would hear the gunshot that ended her friend’s life echo over their heads, and no one else would hear. She knew triggers were real, she just didn't know that something as simple as being reminded could be a trigger.

She spent the rest of the night on pins and needles. Half paying attention to her sister, half anxious. She surveyed her surroundings when she wasn’t looking and drank mindlessly.

The last time she was this unfocused was the week after getting rescued. She had to give a statement for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s records and at one point she zoned out so long that Bucky and Sam got worried and ran in to snap her out of it.

“Mira!” Adisa said.

Mira snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at her sister who already slipped her leather jacket on. “What happened?”

“Two things: we’re leaving, and also do you wanna go to the Nicki concert with me?”

“Right, um, sure. I love Nicki.”

“I know you love Nicki, dumbass, that’s why I told you!”

“Yo, that would be sweet...”

Adisa squealed. “I know right!”

“We could get manicures beforehand.”

“Yes! Okay, now I’m committed.”

They walked out of the restaurant hand in hand, but Mira’s mind was somewhere else.

* * *

It all went wrong when they took a dark alley as a shortcut to get to the subway. Adisa was humming a song she’d heard at a party while Mira tried to shake off this odd moment of mental fogginess. Mira let go of her hand and started to dance and sing around the alley.

“You look crazy right now.” Mira said.

Adisa spun around. “I thought you were the fun Wilson!”

She rolled her eyes. “Just please don’t get hurt.”

Mira felt her phone buzz and saw a message from Steve.

> **Captain Adorable:** just caught buck humming beyonce. thought u should know :)

She smiled and immediately texted him back.

> **Me:** tell him he’s part of the beyhive now, no take backs!!

Adisa made it to the end of the alley, and then she just disappeared. Mira looked up and saw that her sister was gone, immediately she started to panic. This was all too much,  the night was becoming too much to handle. She felt like she was drowning, that her heart would explode any second.

“ADISA!”

“MI-MI!”

She ran in the direction of the sound and found her sister in the arms of man wearing all black. His scarred face was uncovered except for his mouth. But the thing that alarmed her the most was the tattoo on the hand holding the knife: The Hydra symbol.

“How did you find me?”

“Hydra always finds a way.”

“LET HER GO!”

“Nope, if I catch you, I’ll make a name for myself in the agency. Rumlow will hail me as a hero! I can’t be a nobody following orders anymore.”

“Man, shut the hell up!”

Using her telekinesis, she pulled the knife from him and threw it into the street. He ran to retrieve it, dropping Adisa on the ground. Mira pulled him back and pinned him against the wall.

“Hydra is never going to see me again.” She growled. She punched him in the face. “You’re never seeing my boyfriend again! You’re never bothering any of my friends ever again. Got it?”

“Heil Hydra!”

“Wrong answer, asshole.”

She punched him again. She punched him so hard he fell to the ground. Then, she kicked him over and over. His face was bleeding, and his lips were swollen, but she just kept going. She couldn’t help herself, something had taken over. She sat on his chest and punched his face until her knuckles were red and bloodied. She wasn’t acting rationally, she was acting on her anger. She’d held it all inside for so long, and now it was finally coming out into the light.

Adisa watched this, slightly horrified. It was so unlike her sister. She had to calm her down before the she killed the guy.

“MIRA!”

“WHAT?”

“YOU’RE KILLING HIM!”

Mira paused, her fist raised high in the air. She looked down at the Hydra agent, laying half-unconscious on the ground. Her breathing slowed down and she slowly got off of him.

“Adisa… Oh God… Call Sam.” Adisa quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Sam’s number. “Tell him I just found a Hydra agent in Greenwich Village and we need medical assistance.”

She looked down at her hands and back at the man.

“What have I done?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think ;)


	8. Never Told You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the teensy delay. I was gonna have this up on Saturday, but Comic Con was this weekend and I met Hayley Atwell.  
> Priorities.  
> Enjoy <3 The next one will be up in a much smaller time frame, I promise.

As soon as Sam got to her, Mira ran into his arms. She was shaking and crying. Adisa stayed with her while the medics came. Mira spent the entire wait trying to save the Hydra scumbag’s life. He should have felt enormously grateful.

“He’s still alive…” She said, mostly to herself. “He’s breathing. He just won’t move…”

“I know, Mira.”

“I can’t believe this happened.”

Sam held his cousin close and rocked her back and forth. “Let’s get you home.”

“Not quite, Agent Wilson.” said a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. He started to pull Mira away from Sam, but he held on tight. “We’re taking her in for questioning.”

“No, you can’t do that, she was just defending me!” Adisa shouted, trying to intervene in some way.

“Go home, ma’am. It’s standard procedure, she’ll be out in no time.” The agent assured them. “If it really was defense, like you said.”

Mira went with him and looked back at Sam and Adisa with fear in her eyes. _Was it defense? Some of that had to be offense! He was bleeding so badly…Oh God, his blood is still on my hands..._

* * *

 

She was put in the back of a S.H.I.E.L.D. van and driven to HQ without saying a word to anyone. The news hadn’t made its rounds yet, but rumors travelled so quickly in this agency. There were rumors attached to every name, especially if you had links to the Avengers.

Two guards led her in and everyone stared at her. She hadn’t been in HQ many times since the incident with Hydra. All familiar faces knew this had to be an emergency. The confirmation came from her bloody, bruised knuckles, and her bloodshot eyes.

“Agent Wilson, you aren’t in trouble.” One of the guards whispered.

She looked up at him with a worried expression. “Not yet.”

“Not at all.”

Mira looked down at her hands again, her fingers traced over the knuckles. The feeling stung, causing her to flinch. “You should see the other guy.”

She wondered if she should just admit that she used excessive force, or tell them that she was honestly acting out of fear. The last time she got into a real fight with a Hydra agent, she ended up being taken to a hideout and tortured for days. She didn’t want anything to happen to her, to Bucky, to Adisa, to Sam, to anyone. She wanted to send Hydra a clear message, and she definitely sent it.

But was this Mira, or was this Mira’s anger? The anger she let fester for so long in her heart without telling a soul. Was it justifiable or were these the ugly feelings of rage she felt every time someone mentioned Hydra or Rumlow? This dude wasn’t a real threat. He was a low-ranking agent trying to get by…. In a Neo-Nazi terrorism organization.. Which meant that he was a threat to her and to everyone around her…. But she had him on the ropes from the beginning, so why wouldn’t she stop?

Her thought process abruptly stalled when she heard Natasha’s voice. “Mira?” She looked up and saw Nat walking around the corner of the corridor. Her face was confused, and Natasha was rarely ever confused. “Bucky, it’s Mira!”

Bucky rushed in behind her to make sure he hadn’t misheard. Mira almost froze right then and there. He ran up to her and the guards prevented him from touching her. A move which, naturally, made him more worried. “What’s going on, Doll? What is Agent Wilson doing here?” He asked the guards.

“We can’t tell you yet, Agent Barnes.” The guard replied.

Bucky stood in front of him, the urgency in his eyes issuing a threat to the already shaking guard. “Are you sure about that?”

“Why is she covered in blood?” Natasha asked. “Mira, what happened?”

“I fucked up, Nat. I fucked up…” She said. “For real this time, I fucked up.”

“What happened?” Bucky asked again.

Her lips trembled and, not giving two shits about protocol, Bucky pulled his girlfriend into his arms, his hands cradling her head. She couldn’t bring herself to hold him back, only to cry.

“W-we still need her for questioning, Agent Barnes.” The guard told him.

He looked up at him, then back to Mira. “I have to be in there with her.”

“Sir-”

“Fuck protocol, okay? Can we all agree to not give a fuck just this one time?” Natasha asked them. “Also, where is Sam?”

“The other Agent Wilson is on his way here.” The guard replied. “We just really need to question her.”

Bucky lifted her head. “Are you okay?”

“I can answer questions.”

“Okay, I’ll be right here with you the whole time.”

“I did something really stupid, baby.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

* * *

The interrogation room was silent as the grave. Mira laid her head on Bucky’s chest while the other agents gathered all the details. Sam and Natasha stood behind the one-way mirror waiting anxiously to get this all over with.

“Thank you for being here.” Mira whispered to Bucky.

“I love you, why wouldn’t I be here?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m just waiting for you to get over me.”

He kissed her tenderly and rubbed her back. “I can’t, and I don’t ever want to.”

“There’s so much you don’t know…” She said with a sigh. “So much that’s been biting at my skin for months and I haven’t told you because I’m not worth your time or your worry.”

“Mira, what are you talking about?”

An agent walked in with a tired look on her face. She had the official report in her hands. Natasha raised an eyebrow. “She certainly doesn’t seem like she has good news…”

“Agent Wilson, how are you?” The agent asked. She let out a heavy sigh and sat in the chair across from him. “The man is just fine. He requires a bit of facial surgery, but he’ll walk it off.”

Mira was so relieved. “I didn’t give him any serious injuries?”

The agent shrugged. “You did, but he’s a Hydra agent, so I think we can forgive it. However, how he got the injuries is what we’re trying to figure out.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I hit him.”

“Wait, that’s all she’s here for?” Bucky asked. “Beating up a Hydra goon?”

“Beating him unconscious, shattering an eye socket and a cheekbone, knocking out some teeth… The man says you used excessive force.”

“I may have…”

“Why didn’t you just stop punching when you had him subdued?” The agent asked. “Why didn’t you call us in earlier?”

Mira groaned and nervously twirled her hair in her fingers. She turned to Bucky for support and he signalled that it was okay for her to answer. He always made her feel safe, even when she didn’t even feel safe with herself.

“I was… I was angry.” She replied, her hands started to shake, making the table shake.

“At who?”

“Him! Hydra!... Then, I was angry at myself.” She said.

The agent nodded. “Angry about what they’ve done to you?”

“It’s more than that…” She said. Bucky was doing all he could to calm her down before she destroyed the entire room. “Do you know what it’s like to live in fear? Do you fucking know what it’s like to constantly worry about your boyfriend and your friends and your family because you’ve seen what Hydra can do? I do. I’m scared shitless. I know Bucky is capable of taking care of himself, he was able to before me and he’ll be able to if I die tomorrow, but every time he goes out on missions that involve Hydra my stomach is in knots. I don’t know if he’ll come back. I worry for Sam all the time because it obviously didn’t work when they abducted me, so why wouldn’t they try abducting him? It kills me!”

Bucky stared at her in stunned silence. “Mira-”

“I never told you about the fact that I was seeing ghosts in the middle of the night. I never told you about my nightmares where I’m holding the gun up to Kat’s head, where I’m holding a gun to your head. I never told you that at one point I was planning on running from you, from all that we have, because I thought I was pregnant. I never told you any of this because I didn’t want to scare you off, but I’ve always wanted to tell you so I could scare you off, so you could really be happy. I want you to find a normal girl to have a normal life with because after all you’ve been through, you deserve that. I can’t give it to you anymore, Bucky. I’m so sorry.”

“She finally cracked.” Sam whispered. “Holy shit…”

“I haven’t even told you about everything that happened when I was in there. How Rumlow would spend hours beating me, degrading me, and telling me all the ways they’d get you to kill me once you came to save me. I never told you about those brief moments where I could feel my broken ribs when I took breaths and wholeheartedly believed him. So, when I saw that Hydra asshole, I hit him. I hit him again, and again, and again because I hate that Hydra ruined me! They ruined everything about me!”

Natasha held back tears. “Oh, Mira…”

Mira put her head down on the table and wept. Bucky pulled her into his arms. Sam ran in and covered her other side.

“Shh, Mira, it’s gonna be okay now…” Bucky told her, tears ran down his face. “I’m gonna help you. We all are.”

“I love you so much, baby cousin.”

“I love you both. I’m so sorry for putting you through this. Neither of you deserve this.”

Natasha burst into the room with a box of tissues. “You’re fucking important to me, Mira. We’re getting you through this.”

The agent left the friends alone in the interrogation room, huddled around Mira like a protective shell. Bucky whispered encouragements in her ear while she let out all of her frustration and aggression. Mira lifted her head up and saw Katerina’s ghost again. The ghost smiled and waved goodbye before disappearing. Mira never saw it again. She was free, finally, to recover.

She was free to show Hydra that they could no longer claim her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters are gonna feel like a bunch of one-shots but they all lead to something pretty damn awesome... Then, of course, I threaten to rip your happiness away, as is tradition around these parts.


	9. Stillness

Dear Journal,

_Day One._

_Sam gave you to me to write down how I feel. It’s been a long ass time since I’ve had a journal, but I think you're very cute. You have Steve's shield on you! Obviously he picked it out, he always tells me I'm unofficially part of 'Team America'._

_Not even sure I’m doing this right… Is there a way to do this right? Whatever. It’ll just be a stream of consciousness._

_I’ve been given 30 days of sick leave. Knowing me, I’ll only use about ten of those. I hate not working. I’ve never just sat around before, even when I was a secretary I made excuses to move. I feel super uncomfortable, but Bucky is here._

_Bucky Bucky Bucky. That’s bae. I’ve already doodled him on the inside cover of you, journal, so you know what he looks like (I might take a picture of him later just for you). Isn’t he beautiful? I think so. Inside and out. I don’t think he knows. I don’t think he knows he’s so ridiculously goddamn beautiful… Oh God, I sound obsessed. I promise I’m not that creepy, I just… I adore this man._

_Actually I could say the same about everyone in this tower. These are the greatest people you will ever meet. These are the greatest friends you could have. Even Stark._

_By the way, Tony has the best music collection in New York. Sometimes I can hear it when he works in the lab. What a classic rock dork..._

_Doctors gave me anxiety and depression meds along with strict orders to relax. I’m taking the meds but I don’t know how to relax. Not anymore. But I’m trying!! It’s all I can do, right? Isn’t that what people say?_

_Oh God, I want to go outside. I want to go fight crime with my friends. This is too lame.  I feel lame. I feel like I’m wasting time._

_I’ll talk to you later, journal._

_-Mira_

* * *

Mira wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and slowly approached the door of her bedroom. All she wanted to do was get to a window. That would be enough.

As soon as she took a step out of the room, Bucky magically appeared, leaning on the wall of the hallway with his arms crossed. In response, she crossed her own arms.

“I don’t feel like chasing you through New York today, Doll.” He said.

“I’m going to sit by the window, that’s it. Cross my heart.”

Bucky sighed. “No, you’ll go to the window. Then you’ll go downstairs. Then you’ll go to Brooklyn. I know you.”

“I’m just fuckin’ bored!” She whined.

“Honey, it’s only been a day.”

She smirked. “You said you know me.” He smiled and took her hand. “Where are you taking me, sir?”

“To the window.”

“I thought you were afraid I would escape.”

“Not if I’m there with you.”

Mira let him lead her to the side of the tower with the best view. Tony was such a planning genius. The tower watched over New York like a silent protector. It was Mira’s favorite part about it.

Bucky sat down in front of the window with his legs crossed, then patted the floor beside him to tell Mira to do the same.

“We’re gonna relax today, goddamnit.” He told her. He sat up straight and placed his hands in his lap. Mira mimicked him. “Meditation is what keeps me from punching holes in the walls.”

“Bucky, you still do that.”

“Not on purpose.”

“Okay…”

“You have to learn how to just breathe.” He took a deep breath. “Now, close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Think about something that makes you happy.”

“You make me happy.” She told him, deliberately trying to knock him out of focus.

He smiled. “Shhh…”

“You’re so cute!”

“Focus…”

She did as she was told, focusing on the feeling of the chilled air around them. She inhaled all of the positive vibes and exhaled all of the negativity inside of her.

“Now, open your eyes, and watch the skyline. Don’t think about it, just admire the city.”

“I think I might want to keep my eyes closed…” She said. She was thinking about an adventure camp she went to as a kid. She used to escape the set activities and run off to a lake that was perfect for watching the sunset. It was the only time she ever remember just sitting and existing. She wasn’t over thinking or worrying or moving. It was perfect stillness. She imagined being there with Bucky.

It was so quiet she could hear his heartbeat and his breathing.

_Oh, right, this is what relaxation feels like…_

After an hour, she opened her eyes and saw Bucky with his eyes still closed. She wondered what he was thinking about. Did he have a special place, too? Did he have stillness? She crawled in front of him, watching his face, trying to figure it out.

He could feel her in front of him. He could feel her eyes searching him. He reached out and his fingertips touched her arms. The cold metal ones startling her. He leaned forward and gently kissed her. His hands touched her shoulders.

She smiled. “We’ll have to do this again tomorrow.”

“I’ll do anything with you.”

Suddenly, they heard someone clear their throat. They turned and saw Thor walk in with a glass of water.

“Don’t mind me, I’m simply passing through.” He said.

Mira waved to him. “Hi, Thor.”

“Lady Mira, James, how are you?” They went back to grinning at each other. “Very well then…”

* * *

“How long has it been since we just sat down and talked like this?”

“A while. I’ve missed it.”

“So have I.”

“Hey, Mira…”

“Yeah?”

“...Nevermind.”

They’d been lying flat on their stomachs, watching the traffic rush by below, talking about everything. Mira turned to Bucky, blowing some hair from her face.

“Tell me.”

“It’s… It’s not the time. Not yet.”

“You don’t have to do anything until you’re ready, Bucky.” She told him. “I’ll be here. I’ll always be here when you need me.”

“I know.”

“Oh right, I forgot, you _know_ me.”

“I do know you.”

“Right...”

“You named your favorite vibrator Mjolnir.”

She gasped. “How the fuck did you know that?”

“I know you.”

“What else do you know?”

“You steal my shirts constantly.”

“Fuck…”

“Mira Wilson, I know you. I know you about as well as I know me.” He told her. “I love you. Everyday I learn something new about you.”

“What did you learn today?” she asked.

He smiled. “I learned that you need these thirty days off.”

“We’ll see.”

* * *

_Dear Journal,_

_It’s me again._

_Bucky..._

_He says he knows me. He gives me that stupid smile. I melt into his hands. God, teenage me would have puked._

_Goodnight._

_-Mira_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big things are happening to me in the real world.   
> I'm taking finals next week, and then I have a week off (more updates), then my graduation, then you have me all to yourselves in the summer (mwahaha).   
> This stressful senior year of high school would not have been as fun for me without this fic, so I thank all of you for supporting me. I can't wait for y'all to see how this goes :)


	10. Sisterhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adisa comes to visit.

_Dear Journal,_

_Day Three._

_I didn't know how drained I was until I tried moving furniture with my powers. It's usually easy, but this morning I almost fainted trying to move my bedside table. No, wait, I did faint._

_I spent some time meditating with Bucky yesterday and then bugging Bruce in his lab. He might be my new house buddy, Steve should feel threatened. Bruce is that one person I was never really able to connect with before all of this soldier shit happened. I always thought he was too smart for me, and he is, but he gets me which is nice. I mean, everyone in this Tower gets me to some degree but I think we connect on the whole 'something inside of me randomly pops up and hurts people' thing._

_In other news, there's a rumor spreading around S.H.I.E.L.D. that I tried to jump off the roof of the tower. Fucking great! It's getting so bad that HQ is sending out notices telling people that what happened was part of a mission and not to be discussed. Secret agents are fucking dicks. Lesson finally learned._

_They aren't going to set me back, though._

_I won't let them._

_\- Mira_

* * *

Mira had the house to herself while the Avengers were off fighting whatever the villain of the week was. She had her own villains to fight, much more personal villains.

She sat in her room and drew in her sketchbook. It was a piece she'd been working on for a while, a self portrait. The first step to loving yourself again is to indulge in a little vanity. Or at least that's how it worked for Mira.

While she sketched her jaw, her phone buzzed in the pocket of her sweat pants.

 

> **Adum-dum** : ayyyeee big sis hows the break???
> 
> **Me:** cool. wish u were here.
> 
> **Adum-dum** : ctfu do you?
> 
> **Me:** yeah but like... why r u ctfu?
> 
> **Adum-dum** : because JARVIS just let me in
> 
> **Me** : ur fucking w me
> 
> **Adum-dum:** come downstairs and look :)
> 
> **Me** : adisa i’m going to fucking choke u
> 
> **Adum-dum:** i’m sneaky af!! seems like u should get me a secret agent job… ;)
> 
> **Me:** w ur big mouth??
> 
>  

She hopped out of bed and ran to the elevator. It was the first time Adisa visited since Mira was put on sick leave, a week since the accident. She’d been worried sick, she even tried bothering Tony.

“Hi, you’re Mira’s little sister, right?” Mira heard Bruce say as she stepped out of the elevator.

Adisa nodded. “You remember me from the party?”

“Vaguely, I left early. Parties aren’t really my…” He sighed and decided to change the subject. No use in talking about what people already knew. “You came to visit her! She’ll be excited.”

Mira ran to her sister and pulled her into her arms. There was so much left unsaid after the incident, she wanted it all off her chest that day.

“Hey kid.” Mira said. “Did you miss me?”

Adisa giggled. “I missed Bucky.”

“Shut up.” She turned to Bruce and smiled. “You’ve been in the hole all day.”

He grinned. “It’s my happy place.”

“Adisa, this is Dr. Bruce Banner. He’s smarter than both of us, but infinitely more tolerable than Tony.”

“High praise indeed.” Adisa told him. “It’s an honor to see you again.”

“You too.” He put his hands in his pockets and nudged Mira with his elbow. “See you later.”

“Are you free to hang out this evening?” She asked.

He shrugged. “Unless Tony suddenly feels the urge to build something psychotic again, I probably am.”

“Can we talk?”

“Yeah, of course. What’s wrong?”

“Weird dream.”

He nodded and walked back to the lab. Adisa bit her bottom lip.

“Nope.”

Adisa rolled her eyes. “What? He’s a good looking guy, I’m allowed to look.”

“Yeah, but I don’t really think he’s looking at the moment.” She sighed. “He has more problems than human beings should have to deal with.”

“I know _that_ but… He has a really cute ass.”

“Do you ever chill?”

“Do you know who I am?”

* * *

The girls sat in Mira’s room with cups of tea, talking a million things over. Mira wouldn’t stop apologizing. Adisa assured her a million times that all was well, her focus needed to be recovery now. The past is in the past.

“I promise you I have seen more shocking things at frat parties.” Adisa told her. “You ain’t seen shit until you’ve seen a rich white kid attempt the nae-nae. The nae-nae! Blasphemy!”

“No, I shouldn’t have done that in front of you and-”

“I’m fine, honey!” She took her hand. “I love my sister too much to be scared away.”

“I love you, too.”

“I also love Bucky.”

Mira laughed. “I know, Adisa.”

“I already call him my brother in-law, you look like you were made for each other, what the fuck are y’all waiting for?” She asked. “Do I have to buy him a ring? Does he want an invitation? Do you want to propose first?”

“He’s probably waiting for me to not be out of my mind.”

“Never gonna happen, Mi-mi! You've been out of your mind since they cancelled 21 Jump Street. I want a niece!”

Mira looked down at her feet. “I don’t know if I can have kids anymore...”

Adisa’s eyes became apologetic. “I don’t need a niece.”

“It’s cool. There's ways around it, but they probably won't be biologically ours. If we both want it, we can adopt. Bucky is an orphan, I don’t think he’d be against taking one or two in.”

“I want a niece.” Suddenly, a smile spread on Adisa’s face. “Wait, you want to marry him?” Mira blushed. “DUDE!!”

“I love him, Adisa. I would love to spend the rest of my stupid life with him.”

“YES! THIS IS SO GREAT!” Mira covered her face while Adisa bounced up and down on her bed. “Oh my God, y’all should have a private wedding in that church two blocks from here. Wait… we’d have to figure out a way to get Tony there without press.”

“Not possible.”

“Anything is possible.” She gasped. “Federal car!”

“For a wedding?”

“You are a highly valued government agent with ties to Captain America.”

“Adisa, please.”

“Fine. Anyway, I had a second motive for visiting besides bothering you about hypothetical but probable weddings.” Adisa pulled a wooden box from her purse. A heart was crudely engraved on the top, she’d done that herself, obviously. “For you, ma’am. I was gonna get you more, but college is expensive and times is tough.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything.”

Adisa started to scroll through the photos on Mira’s camera. “Just open it already!”

Inside the box were fresh fine tip art pens in every color imaginable. She hadn’t used colored pens in so long because it didn’t seem worth it. Nothing seemed worth it. This gift was more than she could ask for, more than even Adisa must have anticipated.

“I’m gonna cry.”

“Over pens?”

“No, no, no… it’s more than pens…” She sighed. “It’s a fresh start. A return to the old me.”

“You’re so gushy, are you sure you aren’t pregnant?”

“Thank you, Adisa.”

She smiled at a photo of Bucky taken months ago. It was the only one she’d seen him smile in, and she knew he was smiling at Mira. All she’d ever wanted was for someone to smile like that at her sister.

“You’re so welcome.”

* * *

When Adisa left, Mira made her way down to the lab to talk to Bruce. He’d fallen asleep in a chair. She almost didn’t want to wake him up. She gently knocked on the door, trying to avoid any knee-jerk reactions to loud noise.

“You still up for a talk?” She whispered.

He opened one eye. “What did I tell you the first time we had one of these talks?”

Mira smiled. “Timebombs stick together.”

“Yup, so what’s on your mind?”

“I had a dream about a cat.”

Bruce raise his eyebrows. “A cat?”

“A cat.”

Bruce looked so underwhelmed. “Tabby? Calico?”

“Giant grey cat. It came and it ate me.”

“That’s… weird to you?”

“Everything’s weird to me.”

“Mira, you had a normal dream. You told me your dreams for the past two months have been nothing but death and blood. You had a normal dream.”

“Is that… bad?”

“You don’t need science to know that isn’t bad.”

Mira grinned. “I’m really recovering…”

Bruce crossed his arms. “Soon you won’t need me at all.”

“In your dreams..." She paused and got a bit lost in her own thought. "Bruce, do you think I'll ever totally recover?"

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "No, I don't." He told her honestly. "But the thing is you don't have to. You just have to learn how to control whatever beast is running through your veins. That makes it a little easier."

"How much easier?"

"Twelve percent."

She grinned. "That's enough for me." She turned to leave when Bruce cleared his throat. “Somethin’ you need, Bruce?”

“Um… How old is your sister?” His cheeks looked slightly flushed.

Mira tried not to giggle. _Wilson girls still got it..._ “She’s 22.”

“Ah, yeah that’s… too young for me.”

“Not to her.”

 


	11. Work of Art

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Tis a smut chapter.

_Dear Journal,_

_Day Thirteen._

_S.H.I.E.L.D said I can leave the house, so Sam took me to the art museum yesterday.  I was so inspired. I hadn’t really been surrounded by art like that in months. I feel like I could draw the universe._

_After that we cooked together like we used to all the time. I don’t know what I would do without Sam. I joke about him needing me but… I need him way more (don’t tell him). He’s like my twin. I promised I would be spending a lot more time with him and Adisa from this moment on._

_Things are really starting to look better, but right now I have a pack of new pens that’s begging me to use them..._

_-Mira_

* * *

Mira had inspiration, she had the art supplies, she had enough paper to draw for the next fifty years. She just didn’t have a subject.

First, she asked Tony, but he was too busy to stand still and pose for her. Then she went to go sketch Sam and Steve while they trained, but the spark just wasn’t there. She didn’t draw anything below their shoulders. She thought about asking Bruce, but figured it would probably be best to just leave him alone. It was becoming frustrating.

“Art is fun, they said…” She mumbled as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a handful of grapes. “You’ll love it, Mira, they said…”

Bucky was rummaging through the refrigerator and overheard. “You could always eat yellow paint to fill the void.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Ha ha, very nice Van Gogh joke, as if the poor man’s life wasn’t sad enough!”

“Can’t find anything to draw?” He asked.

“Yes, it’s unbearable, it’s like erectile dysfunction, but in my brain.”

“Promise me you won’t say that again.”

“I promise.”

“You’ll find something, Doll.” He grabbed a bottle of water. “You persevere more than most people.”

“I hope so. Did you just get out of training?”

“Yeah.”

She smirked. “Good.”

“Maybe the reason you can’t focus is because you’re just such a damn pervert.”

She watched the muscles in his arms move as he took sips of his water. The sweat on his torso made his shirt practically see-through, and she just loved it when his hair was pulled back. Suddenly, she got an idea.

“Of course!” She exclaimed. “Why didn’t I do this first?”

“Do what?” He asked.

She cleared her throat. “Baby…”

Immediately recognizing this deeper tone to be her ‘sex voice’, he froze. “Somethin’ you need?”

She walked over to him and ran her hands over his chest. He swallowed hard. “Would you be interested in taking your clothes off and letting me draw you?”

“I will do anything you ask me to do when you use that voice.”

“I’ll reward you afterwards. I’ve been back on my birth control for a month.”

“I already agreed.”

* * *

She had him undress in their room, set the lights exactly how she wanted them, and got all of her colors ready. He laid on his back, one leg bent, reclining on his elbows, making titillating eye contact with her from across the room.

“You sure you haven’t posed before?” She asked, sketching his skeleton out.

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Steve once, but I wasn’t naked.”

“You look like the cover model of an erotic novel.” She told him. “Obviously that wasn’t a complaint.”

“Focus on your art.”

“Okay, I’m distracted. Could you possibly, um… there’s no way of saying this that could possibly sound normal. Drape that blanket artfully over your dick, thanks.”

He laughed and did as she told him. “Better?”

“Thank you, baby.”

“Wait, how many erotic novels have you read?”

“A few.” Her gaze flickered back to him for a moment and she smiled. “I read them more before I started dating you.” She’d started outlining the shape of his muscles and face. “Yup, you’re a sex god.”

“I have to keep up with you.”

“I’m gonna need you to try your best not to get aroused, sir.”

“You could leave the room.”

“Cute. Think about worms or something.”

“You look so good today.” He ran his tongue across his bottom lip and watched her draw. She was so focused, so determined. “You know what really drives me crazy?”

“Bucky…”

“Watching you use your powers.”

“Please…” She crossed her legs.  
“Your strength and the power and the way you carry yourself… God, Mira, you’re so fucking sexy.”

“It won’t work...” She lied.

“Sometimes we’ll be sitting at the dinner table and it takes everything in me not to slip my fingers between your legs…”

_Oh no._ “Stop…” She heard him start to groan and her eyes darted up to see him stroking himself underneath the blanket, his eyes still focused on her but glazed over with lust. Her thoughts became cloudy, she couldn’t even hold the pencil right anymore.

“And I know you feel the same way because sometimes I’ll hear you in the shower saying my name over and over…” Mira put her sketchbook to the side and walked over to the end of the bed. She slid her sweatpants and panties over her legs and pulled off her shirt. She’d picked the perfect day not to wear a bra. His breath got caught in his throat as she crawled between his legs. “I thought you were focusing.”

“Shut up.” She kissed him hungrily. “You are literally the worst, Bucky Barnes.”

“I love you, too.”

She could feel his erection poking her stomach. The wetness already growing between her legs almost felt like it would start dripping down her leg any second. She told him not to get aroused, but she’d been aroused since the moment he lied down.

She straddled him, he sat up to worship her breasts and stomach with kisses. His hands gripping tight on her ass. They couldn’t remember how long it’d been.

“I just… want you to fuck me.” She moaned.

Without hesitation, he slipped inside of her. He thrust upwards as she rolled her hips against him. Her arms held on to his shoulders so tight, she left red marks.

“Fuck…” He groaned. He used two of his metal fingers to stimulate her clit, slowly rubbing circles around her most sensitive point. In response, she started to move faster on top of him.

“I’m- SHIT.. I’m so close already, baby!”

“Let it go…” He thrust into her harder, smacking her ass.

She cried out his name as her first orgasm rolled through her, but he wouldn’t stop. He kept thrusting, kept teasing her clit. He suddenly pulled out and laid her on her back, then he hovered over her and kissed her. This time the kiss was tender, gentle.

“It’s you and me against the world, Doll.” He whispered breathlessly between her lips. “Ты и я против мира.”

She smiled and kissed him again. “Damn straight.”

He slid back inside of her and she wrapped her arms and legs around him. He kissed from her lips to her chin, to her neck. She arched her back and he started thrusting into her again. The strokes were longer, slower. He was taking his time with her.

“красивый... “ He whispered. “Произведение искусства…”

As he picked up speed, Mira’s nails dug further into his back. With every thrust, he was getting closer and closer to her g-spot. She almost came from the anticipation alone.

Once he finally reached it, it was over for both of them. Mira’s eyes rolled to the back of her head as he moved relentlessly in and out of her. As they became more vocal, they both grew closer and closer.

He held her by the back of her neck and kissed her so desperately as their climax built. Mira couldn't even think about being quiet. “I'm... Bucky, I'm-”

“I know, Mira, me too- FUCK!”

They came at once, trembling and covered in sweat. The air in the room seemed to chill around them, Bucky releasing the last of him into her and collapsing on his back beside her.

They stared up at the ceiling as if they could see the night sky through the concrete. The silence only broken by Mira’s giggling.

“What’s so funny?” He asked.

“I love you so much.” She replied. “And you love me so much.” She laughed harder, covering her face. “I didn’t even finish the fucking drawing.”

Bucky started to laugh with her.  “You can blame me.”

“I am blaming you!” She put her head on his chest. “Oh well, I still have the mental image and whatever I had down on paper before you decided to literally take matters into your own hands.”

“I did what I had to do.”

“You’re such an asshole.” She sighed. “But you’re my asshole. Ты и я против мира, right?”

He smiled. “Ты и я против мира.”

“I wish I could stay here with you forever.”

“What’s stopping you?” He asked, kissing her hair.

“I’m really hungry.”

“Okay, let’s go get something to eat then.”

They sat up and started to put their clothes back on. “Can we order a pizza?” Mira asked.

“You know if we order for us, we order for the whole tower.”

She shook her head. “Not if we hide it in our room. Those vultures will never find out.”

“Good thinking, you order, I’ll keep an eye on the door.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> Ты и я против мира- You and me against the world.  
> красивый- Beautiful  
> Произведение искусства- Work of art.


	12. Brooklyn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :) :) :D :/ :(  
> That's it.  
> That's the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mild violence warnin'.

“I took too long in the shower again…” Mira mumbled. She sprinkled in a few Russian swear words she’d learned from Bucky and Natasha as she grabbed her leather jacket from the closet in her room. Steve was standing at the doorway with his arms crossed and a grin on his face like he knew something she didn’t. “What are you so happy about, huh?”

“Am I not allowed to smile at my friends?” He asked.

She narrowed her eyes at him and pointed to his mouth. “That’s not your damn ‘gee whiz I just love my friends’ smile. That’s your ‘I know somethin' you don’t know’ smile, Steve Rogers. What are you hiding?”

He laughed. “I do not say ‘gee whiz’!”

“Answer my question.”

He put his hands up and moved out of her way to let her through the door. “I have nothing to hide.”

“You’re a fucking horrible liar,” she told him. “But I am already holding Bucky up, so I can’t talk about it with you right now.”

“Where’s he taking you?”

“Brooklyn. We’re gonna see the old neighborhood. He said he had a surprise.” He smiled even wider and that tipped her off. “You know what the surprise is, Steve.”

“Yes, I do.”

“What is it?”

He turned and walked away. “Sam needs me…”

“Sam is in the other direction!”

“Bye, Mira!”

“Wait!” He turned back around and she pulled him into a hug.

Surprised, he hugged her back. “I don’t get many of these…”

“I know.” She held his face in her hands. “You deal with everyone else’s shit, including my own, with the most grace I’ve seen from anyone, and I don’t know how to thank you for that. Everything with me and Bucky and Hydra, you’ve been there, you’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had, so thank you.”

“When we first met what did I tell you?”

“Which part?”

“I told you you’re a soldier, too. Soldiers look out for each other. You just happen to be one of the most committed and kind soldiers I’ve ever met.”

“Thanks dude.” She let him go and grinned. “We’re gonna get some Asgardian mead later and get wrecked.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Cool, I better get down there before Bucky starts impatiently tapping his metal arm on metal surfaces.”

“You hate that, too?!”

Mira groaned just thinking about it. “I wanna kill him sometimes. See ya later, hun.” Steve waved and went on his way.

She went down to the front and Bucky smiled when he saw her. “You look beautiful as usual.”

She flipped her hair and twirled in her black dress. “Well, you know how it is.”

“You ready?”

“Yeah, I was just talking to Steve.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What did he tell you?”

“Nothing.”

He let out a relieved sigh. “Oh, great.” He kissed her and they started walking to the subway together.

* * *

They went to dinner at a generations-old restaurant that Bucky remembered going to before the war. Mira was amazed it was still open, she was even more amazed that it was still beautiful and quality.

“Why this place?” She asked him with a smile.

“I had my first adult date here.” He replied. “She thought it was pretty damn romantic.”

“So do I.” She told him. “And you’re very cute for taking me here.”

He smiled. "You deserve something special for our first date since you were ordered into recovery."

"Especially since I lasted twenty days. I thought I'd only do fifteen."

"You're stronger than you think you are."

"You're only saying that because you like me, Bucky Barnes." She joked. "After this, where are we off to?"

"The place Steve and I used to have. It's old and breaking down, but still standing."

"That's so fucking cool, baby! Thank you."

"You always ask me what it was like so I wanted to show you."

"Was that the surprise?"

He shook his head and reached across the table to hold her hand. "The surprise comes right after that."

"Good because I'm getting so fucking anxious."

"Don't be. I would never do anything I know you don't like."

"That's only sorta true but whatever."

"Really, Mira?"

"What? You have a 99% satisfaction rating from me, don't worry."

"Where'd that one percent go?"

"Your refusal to admit you love Nicki Minaj and the fact that you leave your wet towel on the bed after you shower."

"Well, you're addicted to Netflix and you always finish the ice cream in the tower."

"What can I say? I have a weakness for ice cream and white guys with metal arms. My mother would kill me if she knew either of these things."

Bucky laughed. "I love how the single interaction I've had with your mom was in a Skype call in which she decides not to like me almost instantly and tells you not to speak to her until you break up with me."

"She's so evil. Adisa and I were lucky to escape."

“Well, you turned out very well.”

“Yeah, I’m a fuck up, but at least I’m not evil.”

He ran his fingers through his hair and took a sip of his wine. “If you’re a fuck up, what does that make me?”

“You’re not a fuck up.” She told him. “You’re an impulsive, unstable, anxio-”

“Thanks.”

“But most of the fucked up shit wasn’t your fault. Besides, stability is so boring to me at this point in my life. I would probably weep if we ever decided to run away to the suburbs together.”

He smiled. “You don’t want a picket fence? A nice dog? A bunch of friendly blonde neighbors?”

“No, maybe, and we have Steve for that.”

“I get it. How do you go back to being a civilian after this?”

“You don’t. It’s an unspoken rule of this line of work that, if you’re in it, you’re either in it for good or in hiding for the rest of your life.”

Bucky raised his glass and Mira raised her’s. “Well, I wouldn’t wanna be in it with anyone else.” They clinked their glasses and drank together.

* * *

When they got to the old apartments, they sat on the stoop and Mira laid her head on his shoulder. They watched the cars pass by in the street while playing ‘Would Your Rather?’

“Would you rather see Nick Fury in high heels or me in a wig?” Bucky asked her.

She giggled. “Nick Fury in heels. All day, everyday.”

“What? You don’t think I’d look good in a wig?”

She squeezed his arm. “Sure you would. But I would prefer to see Fury giving orders in some nice stilettos.”

“Now that I think about it, there’s really no contest.”

“Would you rather punch Bruce in the arm or cut a lock of Nat’s hair off?”

Bucky cringed. “Neither.”

“Pick one, don’t be lame.”

“I would rather punch Bruce.”

“Smart.”

“Would you rather cut Nat’s hair or make Steve cry?”

“Wow, fuck you.” She thought about it. “I would make Steve cry.”

“Really?”

“At least I would fucking LIVE, Bucky!”

“True.” Bucky got lost in thought for a second, then a nervous grin spread on his face. He reached into his pocket while Mira wasn’t looking. “Last one.”

“Shoot.”

“Would you rather jump off a cliff… or marry me?”

She turned around and saw a shimmering diamond ring in his hand. He looked like he was scared to death. She was so shocked that she couldn’t speak. “Bucky…”

“I love you and everything about you and I can’t live without you. If you say no, that’s cool, too, but you are my life, Mira Wilson. You are the love of my long life.”

Tears started to stream down her face. Her mind couldn’t even form full sentences. “Baby, are you sure?” She asked. “Like, completely sure you want me and only me?”

“I’ve never wanted anything more than this.” He replied. “You are the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

She smiled so hard that her face hurt. “I would rather marry you, Bucky Barnes. Yes!” She kissed him and he slipped the ring on her finger. “I can’t wait for the rest of our life.”

They pressed their foreheads together and Bucky gently caressed her face. “You and me against the world.”

“This is the cutest thing anyone has ever done.” She said. “How long have you been planning this?”

“A few months.”

“Bucky, I-” They heard someone scream from the alley way across the street. “Of course!”

They ran to the alley, following the screams. When they got to the end of the alley and didn’t find anyone, they became a little suspicious.

“We both heard that, right?” Mira asked.

Bucky nodded and looked around the alley. “It sounded like a woman being mugged.”

“That’s exactly what it was...” Suddenly, three men appeared at the other end of the alley, blocking their exit. “That’s probably not friendly.”

“Please tell me you have your weapons.” Bucky whispered.

“I do.”

“Good, so do I.”

One of the men stepped forward. “Congratulations to the beautiful couple!” He pulled out a knife. “Too bad we won’t be at the wedding.”

“Oh God, you guys, I just got my zen back.” Mira said. “Listen, we’ll give you an invite if you don’t act like total fuckwads.”

They saluted.“Heil Hydra!”

Bucky and Mira looked at each other and rolled their eyes before getting into their fighting stances. “Taking them off the guest list, I guess.” Bucky pulled out his own knife. “Some people just don’t like parties, Doll.”

“What a crying shame.”

The first guy charged for Bucky and Mira used her telekinesis to slam him against the wall. While she handled him, Bucky handled the other three. The first agent swung at Mira’s face and she caught it then flipped him over her shoulder. She knocked him out with a quick punch to the jaw.

One of the other agents had Bucky in a chokehold. Mira kicked the other two out of the way and Bucky elbowed the agent in the groin, then stabbed him in the shoulder.

“Bucky!” Mira screamed. An agent had her pinned to the ground. She was trying to turn around, but he was placing too much of his weight on her center. Bucky pulled the guy off of her and she got back on her feet just in time to kick him in the head.

Just when they thought it was over, gunshots started raining in from the two buildings on either side. Bucky ripped off the door of a dumpster and shielded Mira as they ran out of the alley.

“We have to go to a crowded street!” Mira said. “Hydra likes to hide, they’d never shoot towards civilians now that people know who they are.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Bucky could see a sniper running along the rooftops as they ran away. “5 o’clock, Mira, 5 o’clock!”

She turned her head and pulled him down, he fell on top of a car. The other sniper panicked and ran in the other direction. “We’re clear.”

“We’re still getting our asses home!”

* * *

When they got out of the subway, Mira started walking slower, clutching her side. Bucky stopped and tried to pull her hand away.

“What is it?” He asked.

“I think... I got shot.” She slowly took her hand away and there was a pool of blood underneath. “I got shot…” She started to feel the pain and her breathing became labored.

His eyes widened with panic and he put his hand over it. “It just missed the stomach, we have to get home.” He pulled her arm over his shoulder and started sprinting towards the tower.

“Second time I’ve left the house in a dress and gotten shot…” She mumbled.

“Don’t remind me.”

“We’re getting married!”

“You just got shot!”

“You said don’t remind y- FUCK THAT HURTS!”

“Don’t focus on the pain, we’re almost there…”

“This is something that would litera- GOD... only happen to us.”

Bucky sighed. “You said you didn’t like stability...”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm officially done high school so you have me all to yourselves for two months! I'll be working super hard because I want to get this baby done by mid-July so we can all move on. Thanks for reading!


	13. Bullet-wounds and Family

Everyone was used to people being carried into the tower after a hard mission, but after a date? Never. Bucky brought Mira there instead of a hospital since Hydra’s connections were unpredictable, they could have had a nurse or two on the inside.

Everyone rushed to her aid. Bruce said they could probably help her in the lab. They carried her down and laid her on a table. The pain already made her pass out.

“What happened?” Sam asked.

“Well, we were on a date and Hydra showed up.”

Steve furrowed his brows. “Hydra’s still after you?!”

“Yeah, apparently, they’re very persistent.”

Bruce lifted her dress and cleaned around the wound. “It didn’t hit any major organs from what I can see. You still probably should’ve taken her to a hospital.” Bucky and Nat shook their heads. “Or not…”

“Hydra is like a virus, it’s everywhere.” Bucky explained.

“You sound a little paranoid.” Clint told him

He sighed. “You live my life and you come out a little paranoid.”

Natasha watched Bruce gather all the supplies and looked down at Mira. _This girl can take some hits, damn_. She noticed something shining beneath the light. Something metallic... silvery… She smirked.

“Well I’ll be damned…”

“What is it, Nat?” Clint asked.

She smiled at Bucky. “Someone had quite the productive date before the goons showed up.”

He turned red. “Later, Nat.”

“Nope, can’t contain it.” She said. “Peep the left hand.”

They all looked down and gasped almost in unison. Sam put his arm around Bucky’s shoulder. “Welcome to the family, Buck! I told you she’d say yes!”

“How’d it happen?!” asked Steve.

“I’ll tell you later when she doesn’t have a bullet inside of her.”

Bruce grinned. “It won’t take long.”

“Oh Banner, not you too.”

Tony cleared his throat and patted Bucky on the back. “I don’t wanna hear about it.”

“Thanks, Stark.”

“I’ll just ask Mira later, she’s a much better storyteller.”

“That’s true.” Steve said. Bucky scoffed. “It is true! Mira’s a better storyteller.”

Tony nodded. “She adds a certain level of emotion and theatrics that I really-.”

“Stop it.”

Bruce pulled out half of the bullet and put it in a tray. “Her body is starting to heal itself, that’s great. I forgot that happened.”

“Thanks, Banner.”

“I just have to get the second half out, and she should be just fine.”

“I can’t believe you’re still being targeted.” Sam said. “You’d think they’d move on to bigger, better things. You’d think they’d get bored.”

“They probably want to contain the number of super soldiers running around.” Natasha said. “Mira’s life is in danger.”

“Mira’s life was in danger the second we decided to enter a romantic relationship, what’s different now? Why have they waited until now to try and kill my wi- fiance?”

Sam smiled. “You almost said it!” He said in an excited, high-pitched voice. “You almost said wife!”

“Awww. Just can’t wait, can you buddy?” Clint asked.

Bucky ran his fingers through his hair. “I’d like for her to be alive for the wedding first.”

“She’s not gonna spend anymore days sitting around, she can’t. She’ll want to work and go on missions. Keeping her here isn’t a realistic option.” Sam told them. “So… We should help her find the idiots who attacked you. Maybe it’ll lead us to Rumlow.”

“Sounds solid.” Natasha said. “She might need a little extra protection detail while she’s in here, though. Who do we ask?”

Steve shrugged. “I’m sure Fury has some extra heads somewhere.”

“Okay, but am I the only one who remembers that we had a very large and powerful houseguest just two days ago?” Tony asked.

Steve shook his head. “We can’t ask Thor to do that…”

“Ask me to do what?” They turned and saw Thor standing there with a look of concern. He came closer to Mira to inspect her wounds. “What happened to Lady Mira?”

“Dude, why are you here?” asked Sam. “I thought Asgard needed you or something.”

“Heimdall said a friend was in peril.”

“We were attacked while we were out on a date.” Bucky told him. “And since everyone knows now, I guess I should tell you too. Mira and I are getting married.”

Thor smiled and lifted Bucky off the ground. “A betrothal of two great warriors! Just what Midgard needs!” He set him down and patted his shoulders. “What a strong union! The wedding feast will be spoken of in legend! What a wonderful partner you’ve chosen, James!”

Slightly annoyed, Bucky grinned at the Asgardian. “Thank you, Thor.”

“Now what is it you don’t wish to ask me?”

“Mira needs protection, but you’re very busy-”

“I will guard her with my life, James, I promise.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

Thor nodded. “Favors for friends are always welcome. Besides, we’ll want her to be healthy for the wedding.”

“And the wedding night…” added Tony under his breath. Clint whistled. Sam started humming Marvin Gaye.

“This is not happening to me...” He whispered.

Thor smiled and bopped along to the tune. “Jane loves this song.”

* * *

Once her wound was clean and patched up, they carried Mira to the couch and put a blanket over her. Bucky managed to lay her head on his lap without waking her up, a rare feat not easily achieved.

She groaned with pain as she began to wake up. She could feel her body healing itself and it wasn’t pretty. It felt like cramps.

“Did I get shot last night?” She asked Bucky.

“Yes.”

“Okay… You didn’t take me to a hospital, did you?”

“I took you to Bruce.”

She tried sitting up with no success. “Ugh- I thought he wasn’t that kind of doctor.”

“He has basic knowledge of first aid.” He told her.

She laughed but that was painful. “I think removing bullet fragments is a bit more than basic knowledge of first aid.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t have to be a doctor to know you shouldn’t get off your ass for a day or two.” He leaned down and kissed her temple. “I’m just happy there wasn’t any major damage.”

She looked down at the ring on her finger and smiled. “You slick, slick bastard. Did you plan that ‘Would You Rather?’ bit or did it just happen?”

He laughed. “It just happened.”

“It was good, it was so good!” She looked around the room. You could almost feel the silence. The Avengers must have been sleeping. “How long was I out?”

“Like two hours.” He replied. “Not long at all.”

“Any interesting developments?”

“Thor is back.”

She gasped. “THOR IS BACK?!” She tried to sit up again and failed again. “What the hell is he doing back?”

“He wants to look after you.”

“That is so cool of him! Holy shit!”

“Well they all love you, Mira.”

“Especially you.”

“Yeah, especially me.”

“Did you tell Sam yet?” She asked.

“He was in on it.”

“That fucking traitor…”

He laughed. “For not ruining your big surprise?”

“Yes! Who else?”

“Steve, Pepper.”

“WOW!”

“It worked out perfectly. You were so happy.”

“I didn’t know how betrayed I was.”

There was a short pause before they erupted with laughter. She was laughing so hard that her body hurt twice as much, but she didn’t care. Hearing Bucky laugh made her happier than anything else.

“Well, even if it was interrupted, the proposal was very sweet.” She told him. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” He said. “We’ll find the agents that attacked us.”

“Sounds fun, am I allowed in on this?” She asked.

“What do you think ‘we’ means, Mira?”

“Don’t get smart with me, I’m just asking since you’re so protective.”

“I’ll always protect you, you’ll just have to get used to that.” He told her. “But I also want to see you raise a little hell.”

“And raise a little hell I shall.”

“That’s my girl.”

“Go to bed, Mr. Barnes.”

“Are you okay here by yourself?” He asked her. She nodded. “Alright, Mrs. Barnes, goodnight. Get some good rest, scream if you need me.”

She loved the sound of that, Mrs. Mira Barnes, it was perfect.

Everything was so perfect.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try my best to get some work done over the next three days but it will be difficult due to freshman orientation. Hope you liked this chapter, it's kind of short but I'm just setting up for the next few chapters.


	14. Breadcrumbs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the end. A short but important chapter.

S.H.I.E.L.D agents were swarming around an interrogation room in HQ as a handcuffed Hydra agent tried to make as much noise as he could. He was banging his head on the table and rattling the cuffs and screaming offensive things to get someone, anyone’s attention. They all just wanted it to stop.

“Where are the Agents Wilson?” One asked.

“They’re on their way.” Someone else answered.

“I wish they’d fucking come already, Jesus, this guy is fucked up.”

“He chose to join Hydra…”

“Yeah, but no one cares.”

“Here they come.”

Mira and Sam came charging through the crowd. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Mira asked. “Disperse!” The crowd slowly broke out, some trying to sneak peeks at the handcuffed man as Mira and Sam walked through the door.

Mira smiled at him and sat on the table. He growled at the sight of her and she smiled even wider. “Hello, Mr. Carver.” She said. “You know who I am, and I’m sure you know who he is so we can skip the introductions and get right to the part where we get answers.”

“Fuck both of you. Your family is ruining Hydra.” He looked at her engagement ring. “Take it off.”

“I can’t, sorry. That’s kind of the point.”

Sam sat on the other end of the table. “What’s wrong, buddy? Got a thing for rings?” The Hydra agent spat at him. “You better thank whatever God you believe in for that not hitting me just now.”

“Technically that’s assault on a federal official, so I now have permission to use force.” Mira said. She focused her attention on his mouth. His eyes widened as his tongue began forcing it’s way out.

Sam grinned. “When did you learn that?”

“Just now.” The agent tried screaming but it was no use as she pulled his tongue out almost as far as it could go. “Will you cooperate or do I have to rip this from your mouth? Won’t do a damn thing to me.”

“I sure as hell won’t care if you’re tongue-less.”

Sweating and nervous, the agent nodded. Mira laughed. “Hydra is hiring straight-up weaklings these days. When you had me locked underground, at least the staff was a little more intimidating than this.”

“What do you want, you whore?”

“Hey, buddy, that’s my cousin. Lay off that shit unless you wanna walk out here with less balls.”

“Do you think I care?” He said. “If I cooperate and you let me go, Hydra will kill me anyway.”

“We’re not letting you go, and that’s none of our business.” Mira told him. “You chose to join a decades old rogue Nazi organization. Should’ve expected this shit.”

“You’re not a typical S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Future Mrs. Winter Soldier. Do you lack sympathy since we killed your little blonde doctor friend?”

She glared right through him. He’s lucky she didn’t decide to snap his neck right then and there. For a second, he almost thought she would. “I only lack sympathy for people like you.”

Behind the glass, Bucky and Steve were supervising the interrogation passing a bag of popcorn back and forth.

“She’s good.” Steve said. “She’s almost scaring me.”

“She _was_ trained by Natasha for a while.” Bucky reminded him. He was so proud of her. Her and Sam caught this guy within moments of finding him walking around in Brooklyn. It was a clean arrest, no witnesses, no hitches. She really was ready to get back to work. “She’s turning into one of the best agents we have.”

“What’s her favorite flower?” Steve asked randomly.

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “White roses, why?”

Steve shrugged. “Just wanted to know, might help me pick a wedding gift.”

“I used white roses to tell her I love her, remember?”

“I remember now, cool.”

“You’re up to something and I swear to God, Steve, I will find out.”

Steve smiled. “No you won’t.”

“I will.”

“Who are the agents who attacked me and Agent Barnes?” Mira asked. “Tell us and you might get a lighter sentence.”

Sam leaned in close. “You have one chance to do anything with your life, give us the names.”

The Hydra agent sighed and held his head down. “I don’t know all their names, alright? But I was in that group. Rumlow randomly pairs us off for missions and sometimes we never see each other again.” He told them. “I can give you radii and descriptions, but nothing more. I’ve sworn allegiance to Hydra.”

Mira grinned. “And I’m sure they’re very proud of all that you’ve accomplished in the name of Hydra. Now, give us the damn names.”

“Don’t you want to know why we attacked you?” He asked.

“Not really.”

“I can tell you with the utmost certainty that we weren’t aiming for your fiancee, Agent Wilson. I know my rifle was aiming straight for your pretty little face.”

Mira rolled her eyes. “What is with Hydra members and long speeches about irrelevant shit?”

“Oh, this isn’t irrelevant shit. Hydra has a bounty on your head, a million bullets with your name on them. Entire squads of Hydra agents begging for the chance to run a blade through your jugular. You should want to hear this little ‘speech’ because it may be the last one you hear. We want you dead, out of the picture, so we can get our fist back and take back our control. Hydra will have order again, and your grave is an express ticket right back to glory.”

“Okay, but how would killing me get Bucky back?” She asked him. “I know that if you killed _him_ , I would paint the entire city with your blood. I would twist your necks and carve ‘Heil Hydra’ into your thick skulls. But that’s me. Him? Shit, I don’t even wanna know what he’d do.”

Steve turned to Bucky. “What would you do?”

He shrugged. “I have a few ideas. A few would make Tarantino blush."

“You want to be a part of the ‘glory’ of Hydra? Go ahead, knock yourself out. Just know what you signed up for, and know that killing me will not be an easy job.” Mira slammed her fist down on the table. “Give us the information!”

“We have an old warehouse in Hell’s Kitchen.” He told her. “It’s soundproof and sealed off. Within five blocks of the last Daredevil sighting so you should probably read a newspaper.”

Sam and Mira smiled. “See? That was easy, right?”

“You two are dead. As soon as you walk in there, they will-”

Sam nodded and grabbed his file. “That’s enough of you.” He called in other agents to take him away.

Bucky and Steve met them outside the interrogation room and praised them for their work. Mira snapped out of character and threw her arms around them both.

“That was so fucking cool!” She said. “I love interrogations, I could do one a day.”

“You were perfect. He said exactly what we wanted to hear.” Bucky told her. “So, what was this plan of your’s again?”  
She winked. “Oh, you’re gonna love this. I call it Operation Fishing Trip.”

“Cute.”

“It has four parts: Bait, catch, pull, and trap.”

“What part are we on now?” Sam asked.

She smirked at him. His little evil genius cousin was back where she belonged: on the field and in control. “The bait is about to be set.”

“I am so proud of you, Doll.” Bucky said before kissing her on the forehead. “Let’s go fishing.”


	15. Bait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *rubs hands together* Enjoy. *disappears into the shadows*

Stakeouts are serious. A stakeout that isn’t perfectly executed could end in a failed operation and countless casualties. While on a stakeout, agents should show a certain level of decorum, skill, and stealth. They should never take their focus from their target.

“Yo, have you ever seen 21 Jump Street?” Sam asked Mira. “That shit is hilarious.”

She shook her head, her feet resting on the dashboard of the van. “Can’t participate in this conversation unless you’re talking about the show.”

Sam sucked his teeth and stole more chips from the front. “The show was borin’.”

“Blasphemy.”

“Listen, I know little sixteen year old you used to get all excited by Johnny Depp-”

“Hey, hey, hey, that is not the only fucking reason I watched 21 Jump Street. Holly Robinson was my hero.”

Bucky, who was sitting with his eyes focused on the building the Hydra agent told them to go to in interrogation, cleared his throat. “If I may interject, Mira still gets pretty excited by Johnny Depp.”

“Baby!”

“What? You do. I’ve seen you watch Don Juan DeMarco.”

She shook her head. “I feel so betrayed right now, Bucky.”

“Husbands surely do know their wives.” Sam said jokingly.

Mira rolled her eyes and took the chips out of his line of sight. “Fuck off.”

“You should’ve seen her when Curse of the Black Pearl came out. She was a pirate expert for like three months.”

“Aww, how old was she?”

“Sixteen.”

“Awww!”

Mira hid her face in her hands. “I hate both of you.”

“Please pass me the chips.” Bucky said.

Mira giggled. “Hell no.”

“Really, Mira?” He asked. “Is this really necessary?”

“Yup. I think I might take a nap holding the chips.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Such a drama queen.”

Bucky grinned. “I didn’t want to have to do this to you…”

“Stay the hell away from me, don’t you- BUCKY!” He tickled a tiny spot behind her ear and she impulsively tried to kick him away so he held her feet. “Damn it, you know I’m ticklish!” He took the chips and grabbed a handful before passing the bag to Sam.

“Thanks, bro.” said Sam.

“Anytime.”

Mira crossed her arms over her chest. “I thought I was the Wilson you were marrying.”

“He’s marrying into the _family_ , don’t be selfish.”

“Speaking of which, am I taking your name, are we keeping our own names, what’s happening?”

Bucky shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

“You could combine the two.” Sam suggested. “Bilson? Warnes?”

They both groaned aloud. Bucky groaning the loudest. “Those names made me want to take my arm off and beat myself to death with it.”

“Beat me first, honey.”

“Always, I’m taking you with me every step of the way.”

“Aww, baby…” She kissed him on the cheek.

Sam was always caught in the middle of their weird shit. Always. Never Steve, never Natasha, not even Adisa, it was always him. “Did he just agree to beat you to death?”

“I could do the same for you if it makes you feel any better, Sam.”

Mira stared at the street and groaned impatiently. They'd been sitting a block away for at least twelve hours. During eight of those hours they were the only car on the block, and they were in a dark colored van with tinted windows. How much more did they need? Did they have to paint the S.H.I.E.L.D logo on the doors?

“PLEASE COME FIGHT US!” She shouted.

“I don’t think they can hear you, the building is soundproofed.” Bucky reminded her. “Just wait, someone will notice.”

She leaned back in the car seat and turned to him. “We could always hyphenate. I could be Mira Wilson-Barnes.”

“I like it.” Bucky said. “A little bit of you, a little bit of me. It’s perfect.”

“You can just stay Bucky Barnes.”

“You sure?”

“Yup, it suits you more.”

Sam cooed from the backseat. “What will you name the kid?”

“Steven or Katerina” Mira said.

“OR Steven or Stephanie.” Bucky said. “Steve basically has monogrammed bibs and clothes on hold.”

She smiled, partially because she didn’t know Bucky thought about it before, also because she could just see the smile on Steve’s face. “Steve can’t have everything.”

"Try telling him that, at least they’ll have an, albeit overly-enthusiastic, stable guardian." Bucky said with a smile. "Boy or girl, they should have your hair."

"I love your hair, but I wholeheartedly agree."

"The last thing New York needs is another greaseball polluting the streets, y'know?"

“I think brown eyes are a dominant trait.”

“Good, they’ll have your beautiful eyes.”

“I think your eyes are gorgeous.”

He fluttered his eyelashes. “Yeah, I know.”

She playfully pushed him. “You’re such a dick.”

Sam got a text. "Uh, hey guys, what do you want your first dance to be to?"

They looked at each other for a moment to think. "The Very Thought of You by Billie Holiday or Flaws and All by Beyonce." Mira replied.

"Ooh, what about, um, Like a Star?"

"By Corinne Bailey Rae?" She asked. "You're so cute, I love that song. That'll be our first dance song."

"Nice choice..." Sam said. He quickly replied to the text.

"Why?" Mira asked.

"Just wonderin', that's all. You so nosy."

"Steve asked me what your favorite flower was during the interrogation." Bucky said.

"Natasha made me look through a dress catalog with her last night."

"The other day Clint asked me what my favorite color was..."

Sam scoffed. "Wow, they're acting weird."

"You mean like you are, right now?"  Bucky asked him. “Trust me when I say that whatever you all are up to, we _will_ find out what it is.”

“No, you won’t.”

Bucky noticed a few shadowy figures approaching the car. “They’re coming, Doll. Remember the plan?”

“Well, I _did_ make the plan up, Bucky.” She replied with a smile. “Get caught, be smart.”

Bucky and Sam loaded their weapons and Mira stretched. As proud as they were, it would be hard watching Mira basically sacrifice herself to Hydra for the sake of information. Bucky was trying his hardest not to lose sleep over it. “Get all the intelligence you can, sweetheart.” He told her.

She gave him one last kiss. “I’ll be fine. I’ve survived them once.”

“Where’s the love for your cousin?” Sam asked.

She giggled and climbed into the back to hug Sam. “Happy now?”

“You are so cool now. I remember when you were still crawling and blowing snot bubbles out your nose.”

“Hush!”

The moment was broken up by a fist flying through the window, just narrowly missing Bucky’s face. He grabbed the arm and twisted it back, they could hear the bones cracking from the back.

“Sam, I might need you up front!” Bucky shouted.

Sam pressed a quick kiss to Mira’s forehead and went to the front seat. The attackers were focusing most of their strength on the front of the van so Mira tried to think of a way to get their attention in the back. She had to think fast because Sam almost got pistol whipped up front.

“I’m gonna run out!” She yelled.

Bucky looked back at her then kicked the door on the driver’s side open. “I love you!”

“I love you, too!”

“Go kick some ass.”

She opened the back doors of the van and ran right into two Hydra agents. One pulled his knife out on her, and she kicked his hand before he could use it. Two more came to grab her, scratching and punching her face to keep her from focusing and using her powers. She put up a good fight for a while just to rile them up.

“That all you got, come on!” She shouted. “It was so easy for y’all to get me the first time!” One guy threw a punch and she caught it mid air, crushing the bones in his fist. She couldn’t resist showing off just a little bit. She looked up at the streetlight above her and focused on it until the bulb shattered, signalling to Bucky and Sam that she was about to get caught.

They were all outside the van now. Mira banged on the back doors to draw attention from Bucky and Sam and one of the agents grabbed her leg and pulled her down to the ground. She could have easily won this fight. She could’ve won almost any fight. But she had to give in on this one. _I should win an Oscar for not kicking these loser’s intestines into their throats. This is like Christoph Waltz level shit._

“Get the fuck off of me!” Mira screamed.

“Don’t struggle, the boss wants you alive, for now.” The agent whispered. He pinned her down with his knee and covered her face with a rag. “They won’t even notice you’re gone…”

Sam looked back and saw the agent carrying his unconscious cousin away. “They’ve got her!”

“We’ll need back-up!” Bucky said, just as Mira told him to. “There’s too many.”

They climbed back into the van, pushing away any extra attackers. Sam was impressed that went so smoothly. Bucky smiled to himself as he drove them away.

“I think she’ll be fine.” Sam said. “You?”

Bucky nodded. “She’ll be great. She’s amazing.”

* * *

****"Hey, boss..."

"What is it?"

The nervous Hydra agent stepped forward, closing the door behind him. His leader was focused on the punching bag hanging from the ceiling before he came in, and training wasn't something he liked to have interrupted. Still this was good news, he could atleast appreciate good news. "We, um, we got the girl."

The leader looked at him. "What girl?"

"The Soldier's girl."

He dismissed him and his lips twisted into a devious grin. "Long time, no see, Miss Wilson. We have a lot of catching up to do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *re-emerges* Welcome back to Hydra, babies.


	16. Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A happy reunion.

Mira woke up, eyes slowly adjusting to the harsh, flickering light. She’d expected them to only bind her ankle like the last time, but both her hands and feet were bound by heavy brass chains. Just like last time, her head was pounding. Except this time, she knew where she was. Not only that, but she was here under her own agency.

She turned herself around and saw that they had her behind double doors. There was a bucket nearby and a chair chained to the wall so she couldn’t move it. It was impressive. They definitely adapted this time.

She half expected Kat to walk through the doors to check her wounds, but this time Kat was on her side of the doors. Not haunting, but overseeing. Kat was finally free to be on her side.

She was ready.

“Bet you’re feelin’ real proud of yourselves!” She shouted. She rattled her chains. “Where’s Rumlow?! Did someone finally take that asshole out?! You under new management?”

As if on cue, Rumlow walked in. He sat on the chair across from her. She hated him so much her stomach churned at the sight of him.

“Bucky and Sam, did they get away?” She asked through gritted teeth.

He grinned and nodded. “Oh yeah, they sped off as soon as they realized they were outnumbered and outgunned.” He replied. “Shame, I wanted to kill you right in front of them. I wanted to see the Soldier return in the heat of rage.”

She laughed. “Sounds like a flawed ass plan, Rummy.”

“You still have a big mouth, I see.”

“Never got a complaint about that.”

“Of course not, I can see why he’d want a warm mouth to come home to.” He cocked his head to the side. “Tell me, is he the only one you’ve been sucking off, hmm?”

“The one and only.”

“Not Banner? Rogers?”

“What? Am I not allowed to have male friends? Is Hydra not only an agency of dumb-fucks but an agency of sexists?”

“Alright, what about Romanoff, huh? You two are close.”

“Is that what you think about at night when you’re laying in your cot playing with your sad little dick, huh?” She asked. “You think about me and Natasha? What is the point of this anyway, huh? You weren't able to paint me as the whore the last time we saw each other. Why do you keep using the same boring lines?”

“You are a whore. You're a whore who tarnished the image-"

"Of Hydra, blah, blah, blah..." She pretended to gag. “If I have to hear another speech about the glory of Hydra, I might cut off my own ears.”

He smiled. “I’d pay to see that.”

“Then I’d use the knife to cut out your tongue.”

His smile dropped. “Where’d this confidence come from, huh?” He asked. “This bite? You were a sweet little secretary when we first grabbed you.”

She leaned back on the wall and smiled. “I went through some shit, got over it, got my life together again. Forged in flames is what they call it.” She looked back at him. “I’m still sweet when I want to be, but why the fuck would I be sweet to your dumb ass?”

“Because I could end your life and your fiancee’s with the snap of a finger.”

“I could end your pathetic life with the slightest amount of focus. I’m just choosing not to because I like to play with my prey before I eat it. I get that from someone I know.”

“Prey? Excuse me? Look at where you are, look at where I am.”

“Doesn’t matter. I can see the fear in your eyes. You don’t know what you’re dealing with anymore. When I was just a ‘sweet little secretary’ you could’ve done anything. If I were like Dr. Grey… I’m not what you wanted, what you expected. I’m more than Steve and Bucky, and you don’t have a damn clue what that means. You’re afraid of me.”

“Afraid of you? Hydra created you.”

“Dr. Grey created me.”

“Wrong! In fact, everything you have you got from Hydra. Your fiancee belongs to us. Your powers belong to us. Your life belongs to us. Even if you manage to get out this time, we will follow you to the ends of the earth. We will follow your trail like ants. You will never be rid of Hydra for a second. Your life is over, sweetheart.” He stood up and walked closer to her. “Any children you might have belong to us, too. Your sister… Everything. You wanna be tough? Fine. You’ll need it to fight for the rest of your life anyway.”

She used her mind to push him away from her, into the wall. The pain in her head became more intense and she let out a scream of pain and doubled over. It was blinding, she knew it would be, she just wanted him to shut the hell up.

“I belong to nobody but me!”

He groaned and stood up straight. “Is that so?”

“Yes, that is so.”

“I hope your ring finger doesn’t feel too naked.”

She looked down and saw that her engagement ring was gone. She tried charging for him but got caught by the chains. “WHERE IS MY RING?!”

“See you soon…”

“GIVE ME MY RING, YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

“Get some rest.”

He back out of the room and locked the doors. She rattled her chains and screamed again until she was sure he’d gone away. Then she looked inside her bra to see if they’d moved the microphone. When she found the small black device was still there, she almost cried out of happiness.

“It fucking worked…” She whispered. “Are y’all there?”

There was silence, then there was static. It aggravated her headache, but she didn’t mind in the slightest.

“We’re here, Doll.”

“Baby, thank God, did you hear that?”

“Yeah, we heard everything perfectly.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Oh my God…”

“You’re doing great, Mira.” She heard Steve say.

“I can’t believe it’s working…”

“I knew it would.” Bucky told her. “Get some sleep, we’ll be listening in. Does anything hurt?”

“My head is killing me.”

“You over-exerted yourself. Take it easy for a bit.”

“Okay.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“I love you, too, Mira.” Sam said.

She giggled. “I love you, Sam.”

“Steve and Nat love you, too.”

“I wanna hear Nat say it.”

She heard Natasha groan and walk up to the mic. “Come back alive, you gorgeous piece of shit.”

“I love you, too. Goodnight.” She closed her eyes and laid down on the floor. After a few minutes of trying to doze off, she still felt the need to hear a certain voice. “Bucky? You still there?”

“Yeah, all night just in case you need me.”

“I want my fucking ring back.”

“I know.”

“I can’t… I can’t sleep without you.” She laughed at herself. “I sound like a child.”

"It's a little weird for me, too." He chuckled. "I feel like somethin' is missing."

"It's so fucking cold in here."

"Do you think you could sleep if I kept talking to you?" He asked her. "You need rest."

“That should work.”

“One day, Sam woke me early in the morning to go work out. But I left with a little bit more than that…”

* * *

“Get her up!”

“You sure?!”

“GET HER UP, RUMLOW’S ORDERS!”

“Okay…”

The doors swung open, startling Mira awake. A pack of armed guards ran for her. Two taking off her chains and the others restraining her. It was all happening at once, she couldn’t focus on a single person. They started to carry her out the room and she kicked at them and screamed. On the other end of the line, Bucky was now wide awake and listening closely.

“Good morning, Agent Wilson.”

“WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?” She screamed.

“Orientation.”

 


	17. Mindless Violence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the end we learn that there is a character tag that I intentionally left out.

It was unreal… Unlike anything Mira had ever seen. There were so many of them, so many Hydra agents crowded around her, spitting and shouting.

It was a large room, almost like a fighting arena. It had the same dim, green-ish lighting as the rest of the building seemed to have. The floor was solid concrete and she hit it hard when they threw her down. They were packed against the walls, like spectators of a sport.

They were gearing up for a good old-fashioned gladiator fight.

Rumlow burst through the crowd and they all got quiet. He pulled her up by her hair, forcing her to stand by him. She hissed at him.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to touch a Black woman’s hair?” She asked. “What the fuck is this?”

Rumlow smiled. “A little entertainment.” A circular wall of agents surrounded them holding tasers and cattle prods. “A fight, you and me.”

“What’s the point?”

“I guess you could say I like to play with my prey before I eat it.”

Mira backed away from him, but couldn’t get very far. She focused on the agent behind her and pushed him back. It took a lot of energy, but she’d managed to clear a bit of a path in the crowd for her to run out, then someone caught her by her arm and threw her back into the ring.

“As I was saying…” Rumlow continued. “You and I will fight, no powers, no weapons-”

“No gear.” She said, referring to his bulletproof vest and utility belt. He shed all of his gear off. “When does the fight stop?”

“When the loser is knocked out.”

“Of course.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Got somethin’ else smart to say, Wilson?”

“Not exactly, I’m just wondering what happens when, I mean, _if_ I knock you out.” She said. “Do I get a prize? A teddy bear to share my cell with?”

He laughed, then everyone else laughed. “You’re not gonna win this fight.”

“You’re so sure of yourself.”

“Yes, I am.” he said. “You may think you’re on Captain America’s level but you’re weak. You’re like Spiderman.”

“He’s a nice kid, don’t be a jerk.” She said. “Anyway, I am probably going to win this fight. You may have the height advantage, but that’s pretty much it.” She looked at his pants. “Tell me you’re not wearing a cup. I think that counts as gear.”

“Enough talking.”

“Words I never thought I’d hear come from _your_ mouth.”

She heard the static of the mic in her ear and let out a breath of relief when she realized no one else could. She expected a worried Bucky to ask her if she can spot an exit but instead she heard him say: “Kick his ass.”

The corners of her mouth twisted into a smirk and she got into her fighting stance. “Let’s go.”

Rumlow threw the first punch, which Mira dodged. She held his fist and threw a blow to his stomach. He used his other hand to grab her neck, lifting her high above the ground. She struggled a bit, biting his large hand before delivering a swift kick to his nose.

He backed up and checked to see if he was bleeding, lifting his fingers from his nose to see a line of red running down his hand. Suddenly, like a bull, he charged for her, lifting her up and then pinning her to the ground, his elbow digging into her chest. His other fist delivering blow after angry blow to her cheeks.

“Is this what you wanted?” He growled.

She licked the blood from her lips and smiled. “Nope, pinning me to hard surfaces is an activity specially reserved for my fiancee.” She knee’d him in the groin and then punched him in the face twice before he finally rolled off of her. She stood above him, then waited. “Get up, you piece of shit.”

He stood up and punched her in the stomach, knocking the wind from her lungs at first, he’d hit one of her ribs. She nearly backed into one of the tasers. She slid on the ground between his legs, then kicked him into the wall of tasers. He screamed as one of his trigger-happy agents accidentally shocked him.

“Sorry, boss.”

“Fuck off!”

He crawled over to Mira and tried pulling her back down to the ground with him. She almost lost her footing before kicking him in the temple, earning a gasp from the crowd. Her boot was heavy, the kick was almost audible. Some spectators clutched their own heads in response.

Rumlow was disoriented, surprised almost. He stood up and tried to regain balance, then charged for her again, so she flipped over his head.

Still confused by the blow to his head, he hesitated in looking behind him. It was a shame, because she was already ready to make her next move. She ran up to him, landing on his shoulders. _This one’s for you, Nat_. She let out what sounded like a battle cry and used her thighs to flip them both over.

The way Rumlow landed on his already bruised and bloodied face wasn’t pretty. She sat on his back and used the opportunity she had to dislocate his shoulder and hop off of him. He wailed and blacked out from pain for a split second before coming to his senses and looking up at the woman who so obviously just beat him, smiling and clutching her stomach. He tried crawling towards the crowd.

“Is that a surrender?” Mira asked.

“GET HER OUT OF MY SIGHT!” He shouted.

A crowd of agents picked her up and carried her back to the cell, binding her in chains again and slamming the door in her face.

* * *

Mira decided to take a little nap after they left, waking an hour later ready to tell Bucky everything, all the explicit details.

“I won…” She said.

“Great! Did he bleed?” Bucky asked.

She giggled excitedly, high on the adrenaline of the fight. “Yes!”

“Even better.” He said. “Tell me everything.”

“I kicked him in the temple.”

“Jesus…”

“It was awesome. I also did one of Nat’s moves to finish him off.”

“Holy shit, you really kicked his ass? How’d you make him bleed?”

“Kicked him in the nose when he tried to fucking choke me.”

“That’s amazing, are you hurt?”

“Obviously, but you should see the other guy.” Knowing that answer wouldn’t make Bucky feel any better, she elaborated. “A bruised rib, bruised cheek, and a busted lip.”

“Oh, okay, nothing major. How many agents were in there, Doll?"

"At least seventy. They're all armed. They all have utility belts, they all have bulletproof vests. Breaking in here isn't gonna be easy, baby. You'll need about a hundred S.H.I.E.L.D agents and they'll all have to be quiet when they first get in. Rumlow will probably want a rematch because he's a dumbass, I'll try and get the crowd riled up to cover any noise. You can sneak in then."

"Good plan, we have a little back-up on the way, too..."

While he was talking, she heard sounds of traffic in the background. She could hear car horns and Sam and Nat talking to someone in the background. “Are y’all outside?” She asked.

“Yeah.”

“You sound like you’re in an alleyway or something.”

“We are.”

She furrowed her brows, he didn't need to see her to know that. “Do I want to know why?”

He looked up at the newest addition to their mission. “Probably not.”

“Oh God, who is it?”

He let out a sigh. “Hell’s Kitchen’s neighborhood watch committee.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you.


	18. Tensions and Suspicions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title is shitty because I literally came up with it at 4am.

The cell was growing on Mira, even being bound was starting to feel like everyday life. Guards messed with her a lot less since the fight. Rumlow sure as hell didn’t come around much. She sat there quietly, mostly listening to conversations that happened outside the door and whispered any details to Bucky.

She learned that Hydra had a plan to collect her blood in an attempt to clone her dna, they had a back-up arsenal a few blocks away, and there were agents on the streets posing as police officers just in case anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D bothered to try and save her. There was also a bet going around on the method Rumlow planned to use to kill her.

“I think at this point he’d just want to beat her to death.” Said one.

“Too messy. I think he’ll shoot her.” Said another.

A third caught up to them in the hallway with a chuckle. “He wants her to suffer, I think he’d slit her throat right as the Soldier gets here.”

“How theatrical.” The second groaned.

The first loaded their gun. “My money's still on him beating her to death, maybe breaking her neck.” 

“That would be fun. He told me the next fight was on Friday.” Said the third. “He’ll kill that bitch for real this time.”

Mira laughed to herself. _Good luck with that, assholes_. The agents talked a lot of shit, but many were too scared to open her cell. They were all just riding on Rumlow’s demented coattails.

Once that group passed, she leaned into the mic and softly said, “Next fight is on Friday, what day is it today?”

Bucky checked the date. “Two days from now, and we’re ready. We found the arsenal and everything. Daredevil is taking out most of the undercover guys tonight. S.H.I.E.L.D will seize the arsenal when he’s done.”

“Thank you, it’s been so boring here since I kicked Rumlow’s ass.”

“Hey, don’t get a big head.”

“It’s hard not to.”

“Can’t wait to get you back. Everyone is the tower is acting so fucking weird.”

“How so?”

“Stark closed an entire section off and there’s been deliveries coming everyday and there was a DJ here yesterday. A goddamn DJ.”

“How’d you know they were a DJ?”

There was a short pause. “I might have… threatened him a little…”

“Baby!”

“I didn’t know who they were!”

“Tony’s probably throwing a party, nothing new.”

“He won’t tell me anything. I don’t even know when the party is, Mira! I asked everyone else and they know but they won’t tell me.”

“Well it’s not your birthday.”

“Yes, I know.”

“It’s not my birthday.”

“We just had your birthday party, Mira.”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s a surprise thing. Listen, if it’s really bothering you-” She heard a guard walk towards her cell and lowered her voice. “Someone’s coming.”

The guard walked in, his hands shaking slightly, a nightstick in the right fist held so tight the man’s knuckles were white. He was just a kid, and Rumlow must have sent him in to babysit her because he knew her habit of taking pity on young nervous agents, at least that's how he saw her friendship with Katerina.

“What are you, twelve years old?” She asked. Refusing to give in. A Hydra agent is a Hydra agent, he chose to be here.

He shook his head. “21. I’m, um, I was sent to monitor you. Rumlow thinks you’re planning to escape…”

“Nope, just taking a nap.” She told him. “I swear on my life.”

“You let yourself get caught didn’t you?” He asked. “That’s what everyone’s been saying but… Why?”

She rolled her eyes. “You really think I’d want to be back with you assholes? Please. You got me fair and square, you should be excited. Fuckin’ paranoid as hell…”

“We’re not crazy, you’re a high ranking agent-”

“Who got caught. It happens to the best of us.”

He walked closer to her, nightstick ready to strike. “If you’re hiding something, you need to tell me right now.”

“I don’t think I want to…”

She sat up when she realized he wasn’t in there to monitor her. He was in there to interrogate her. He wasn’t sent by Rumlow, he was sent by other suspicious agents. They spent so much time talking about her as if she were some urban legend that everyone wanted to dig into her anyway they could. Some S.H.I.E.L.D agents were the same. Unfortunately for this guy, Mira wasn't in the mood.

“Did you sacrifice yourself?”

“No.”

“Tell the truth.”

“Fuck you.” He raised the nightstick and she used her powers to send the stick flying towards his face. “You wanna hurt me? You wanna know why I’m really in here?!” She sent him flying towards the wall, his shoulder audibly popping out of it’s socket. “Old testament revenge.” He wailed with pain and backed away. She locked the door behind him. “I am a nightmare. If you tell anyone what happened in here, I’ll make sure my friends get to you first.”

The agent cowered against the door, covering his face. “Wait, don’t kill me!”

“Promise not to tell.”

“I promise! Just… Please.”

She rolled her eyes and unlocked the door. “Don’t do anything stupid.” The kid ran out and tried not to be seen. Mira leaned against the wall. “Was that too much? I wasn’t really gonna kill him.”

Bucky laughed. “It was certainly effective.”

“I think I made him pee.”

“Speakin’ of which, do you mind if Nat takes over for a bit?”

“Go pee.”

Bucky left and Natasha took his place. Mira loved this system, she got to talk to everyone she loved and relax knowing they were together.

“Natasha.”

“Mira.”

“So what’s this I hear about a party?” Mira asked. “You can tell me, Bucky isn’t in the room.”

“He’s being paranoid, there is no party.”

“What? He saw a DJ.”

“Must be a new cleaning person.”

“You fucking liar.”

Natasha giggled. “I’m not lying. I’ll ask about it Tony right now. STARK!” The sound of footsteps approached the microphone. “Are you planning a party?”

Tony scoffed. “Why would I plan a party when Mira is in the grips of Hydra, that would be wildly inappropriate.”

“See?”

Mira sighed. “Whatever you’re up to, I will find out.”

“Nope.”

Mira had no clue what was going on, and they liked it that way, but she also didn’t really care. She couldn’t wait to get home, to complete the mission and finally feel able to move on. She and Bucky had a long, beautiful life ahead of them, and she just wanted to get started.

But first, she wanted to kick Rumlow’s ass again. Naturally.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is no party. There is no war in Ba Sing Se.


	19. Trap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, we're so close to the end... It's bittersweet. I cried writing the final chapter. I actually wrote it when I finished 'People Aren't Weapons' and it's super cute.  
> This chapter ain't so cute though. I'm sorry.

Mira could feel it, she could feel it in her veins. Her blood was running hot with adrenaline, her skin cold to the touch, she felt so very alive. This was the end of everything, the final nail in the coffin, the closing of a chapter that has dragged on for too long. She was so excited she could hardly sit still, but she had to. She had to wait. She had to make them think they were ahead.

She waited and waited. Hours of silence, and what she could only assume was daylight, passed. She was growing antsy, impatient. This wasn’t good, she had to think about something else. If she got too excited she’d ruin the whole thing, the whole plan.

She’d slept as much as she could, stocking up as much energy as her body could hold. What she really wanted was pizza. She'd made a mental note to get one after she got out.

But what if she didn’t get out? What if one detail went astray and they actually killed her? What then?

_The show goes on_ , she thought. _The show goes on._

* * *

The door burst open as it had before, at least six armed guards restrained and uncuffed her. She tried pushing them off.

“What do you want this time?!” That was the cue. Now the rest of the team could finally spring into action.

They brought her back out to where they’d held the last fight. She stood tall as the Hydra agents spat and shouted. Her calm amidst the disorder only provoking them.

“YOU BEAT HIM ONCE AND YOU THINK YOU’RE HOT SHIT!”

“HE’LL KILL YOU TONIGHT YOU SICK BITCH!”

“HEIL HYDRA! HEIL HYDRA! HEIL HYDRA!”

The whole crowd started stomping their feet and shouting “Heil Hydra”, trying to get her riled up. She laughed at them and tried to stay focused.

Rumlow finally showed up. He definitely came prepared. His hands were wrapped, the shoulder Mira dislocated was clearly taken care of. He looked ready, he had a trick up his sleeve. Without any pomp or circumstance this time, he threw the first swing at Mira’s face. She didn’t expect it and went down.

“No speech?” She asked him as she rubbed her jaw. “That’s cool.”

She used her body weight to propel herself forward, kicking him square in the chest. The momentum almost knocked him to the ground, and knocked the wind from his chest. She kicked him in his bandaged nose, then threw a punch to his face and missed. He grabbed her fist and tried breaking her hand when she kicked him in between his legs. He wailed and let go.

“LITTLE BITCH!”

She shrugged and checked her hand, a little sore but manageable. “You really should... be wearing... a cup.” He ran into her, knocking her to the ground and pinning her there. She punched him and rolled on top. “Never thought... we’d meet like this, Rummy… I wish you were a little more talkative.”

She punched him again and again and again, blindingly fast. He spit in her face and she tried to keep punching despite the fact that her eyes were stinging with his saliva.

“GET OFF OF ME!” He roared. He pushed her off and regained his position of control on top of her, holding her by her neck with one strong hand. She struggled and scratched at his face trying desperately to get him off of her. “YOU ARE PROPERTY OF HYDRA!”

“I…. belong.... to… no one but me!” She scratched his eye and he screamed.

He pulled a taser from practically nowhere and shocked her with it while she was pinned beneath him. She let out a bloodcurdling scream and tried wriggling from his grip. She’d only made it so far before he caught her under his boot and shocked her again. The metallic taste on her tongue was definitely not a good sign. Her body convulsed in pain and she let out a cry. He loaded the taser up again when-

_WHOOSH_

From the air a figure tackled Rumlow, knocking the taser from his hand. Rumlow tried standing up, but the man stomped him back down and hovered over him, punching as hard as he could. A flood of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents came charging in from all directions. Still in pain, Mira sat up to see who it was that took him down.

“Nice to finally meet you, Daredevil.” She said with a smirk.

The masked man grinned back at her and punched a Hydra agent who charged at him from behind. “You too.”

She got back on her feet and mustered up the energy to start using her telekinesis. “So Bucky didn't lie to me." She helped him by pushing off a few attackers. For some reason, she felt stronger. She used her mind to pick up a few cattle prods and send them flying at Hydra members trying to escape the room. Her aim was impeccable. "Well, you certainly are impressive."

“I’m sorry we have no time to get to know each other, Agent Wilson!” Daredevil shouted as a horde of Hydra agents tried to rush him.

“It’s cool, it’s probably for the best!” Mira used her powers to send agents flying in to the ceiling and the light fixtures. She pulled the taser out of one’s pocket and shocked him with it.

The young agent who tried to attack Mira before ran over to her when he was suddenly struck in the head by a blur of red hair and black leather. “Miss me?” Nat asked.

“I could kiss you right now, Natasha.”

She smiled and took down two more guys. “Save it for your fiancee.”

“Is Bucky here?!” She asked.

Nat nodded. “You kidding? He couldn’t fucking wait.”

Bucky came through, knocking Hydra agents down without hesitation or warning. He was attacking with shocking efficiency and speed. Each blow was almost audible. Sam and Steve were right behind him clearing the way for more agents.

“God, that’s hot.” Mira said.

He looked at her and smiled. “You just gonna stand there, doll, or are you gonna do something?”

She swept the room, using her powers to push back any Hydra agents running towards the fight, knocking some out completely and keeping others down long enough for a S.H.I.E.L.D agent to take care of them.

“Mira!” Steve shouted. “How are you?”

“I just got tased twice, Steve!”

“As long as you’re still standing, everything is okay.”

“You’re so positive and cute.” She roundhouse kicked an agent in the face and they went down immediately. “It’s getting a little too easy from where I’m standing. Hey, baby-”

She was about to say something to Bucky when she felt an arm at her throat. Rumlow had gotten up and was pulling her towards the door. She bit him and tried kicking him away.

She had just enough air in her lungs to scream one name, and she chose wisely. “SAM!”

Sam and Bucky looked up, each running in a different direction. Bucky, impulsively tried following Rumlow and Mira. Her vision was going dark, and as she fell unconscious in his arms, Rumlow eased his tight hold on her.

“You die when I say you die.” He whispered. He banged on the walls. Baiting Bucky to come closer. “COME ON, SOLDIER!”

Bucky was getting closer to him in the corridor, the footsteps sounded heavy and frantic. “LET HER GO!”

“YOU WANT HER BACK, COME AND GET HER!” He threw Mira over his shoulder and ran up the stairs leading to the roof.

Floor by agonizing floor Bucky chased them. He wasn’t easing up, not even a little. _Not her. Not her. Not her. Not her. Not her._ The stress was triggering a reaction, his mind reverting back to machine, it felt like a piercing headache. He stopped moving as the pain almost split his skull. He had to fight this off, he had to fight the Soldier off for her.

He made it up to the roof and stopped in his tracks when he saw Rumlow dangling Mira off the edge by the collar of her shirt. The pain in his head grew stronger.

“Put her down you sick fuck.” Bucky said. Angry tears rolling down his cheeks. “No one has to get hurt.”

“You don’t understand, Soldier. SHE HAS TO DIE!”

“I WILL RIP YOUR HEAD FROM YOUR SHOULDERS IF YOU KILL MY MIRA!” He said. “IF SHE DIES, YOU DIE!”

“YES, THERE WE GO, SOLDIER! COME ON! YOU’RE THE FIST OF HYDRA, NOT SOME LOVER BOY-”

“LET HER GO!”

“That pain in your head, feels like a shock doesn’t it? It feels like something is trying to come out…”

“I WILL KILL YOU!”

“YES, YOU WILL, BECAUSE YOU’RE A MOTHERFUCKING KILLER!” A smile crept on his face. “Heil Hydra.” With that, he released Mira from his grip.

In a swift moment, Bucky’s world became silent, excruciating.

He was still fighting off the Soldier in his head while an equally sharp pain ran through his heart. His lungs felt like they were filling to the brim with water and his feet dragged like lead. He might have screamed, he might not have said anything, but he ran. He ran as fast as he could towards the man that hurt him and, without any hesitation or thought, knocked him from the roof.

“I told you. If she dies, you die.” He whispered.

He fell to his knees, put his face in his hands and just wept. The pain in his head was slowly going away, but the pain growing inside of him was so much worse. It was insidious, tearing at his stomach and clawing at his skin. Why wasn't he proud? He did it, he kept The Winter Soldier at bay for her… and it didn’t mean jackshit.

He crawled over to the edge and tried to see where she fell, but was surprised when he didn’t see anything. Where was she? Where was her body? He had to find her body and give her a proper burial and tell her how much he'd loved her for the last time. Where was she? He panicked and ran all the way back down and out the building past Rumlow looking for her.

Nothing.

It was like she’d died twice. It was almost too much for him to handle.

“Lookin’ for someone, Barnes?” He heard Sam ask.

He couldn’t even look at him. How could he explain this? “M-Mira… Fuck, Sam, I’m so sorry. I tried to save her and-”

“You didn’t, I know.”

"I told her I'd always protect her..." Bucky shook his head in shame. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

"Bucky, man, she-"

"I didn't even say goodbye... We didn't even get married..."

“I saved her.”

He looked up, wide eyes stinging with tears, wondering what he meant. “What?”

“She’s knocked out and a little bruised up because the fall was rough but she’s alive, Bucky. I caught her.” He pointed over to Mira who he’d propped up against the wall of the building. “Wings, remember?”

Suddenly, all his pain disappeared. The animal attacking him from the inside was gone. She looked so beautiful! She looked so beautiful and so alive. He almost thought this was a dream he was having, some kind of hallucination to keep him from feeling the pain. He blinked to make sure, and once he was sure he smiled and hugged Sam before running over to his girlfriend.

“Wait! Don’t wake her up, she needs to do that on her own!” Sam said. 

He kissed her forehead gently. “Sam, how did you-”

“She had a feeling he’d try the roof. I’m always prepared, dude. Always.” He looked over to Rumlow. “Think he’s dead?”

Bucky let out a deep sigh. If he had less control, he’d finish the job right then and there. “With our track record, who fucking knows? If he’s just sleeping I want him to wake up in a prison cell and a pool of his own piss.”

Daredevil walked out and kicked him. “He’s alive, barely, but alive. I’ll make sure he gets to your facility.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow. _How the fuck could he tell without checking?_   “You don’t have to.”

“This scum has been recruiting teenagers around Hell’s Kitchen for years, trust me when I say I feel like I deserve to throw a few punches.” He said. “Besides, your fiance seems nice. She’s definitely resilient. You need to be with her.”

They nodded. “Thanks.”

“Just get your men out of here before people start staring.”

Bucky sighed and ran into the building to retrieve everyone else as more S.H.I.E.L.D vehicles pulled up to detain as many Hydra as possible. “Taking orders from a guy wearin’ horns…”

“Everyone needs a calling card.” Daredevil retorted.


	20. A Most Dramatic Hospital Stay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much.

Bright white light was met by the clinical smell of a hospital. Mira sat up and saw that she was lying in a hospital bed. Sam and Bucky were sitting in chairs in the corner of the room. Two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were posted at the door. It must’ve been nighttime because even they were nodding off while her cousin and fiancee were all the way gone.

There were a bunch of flowers by the bed, including a red, white, and blue bouquet that could’ve only ever been from one person. She read the card: “To my future sister-in-law, nice to know I’m not the only one giving Bucky heart attacks -Steve” _Aww, Steve! I actually think we’re rubbing off on him._

The teddy bear next to it had a little bow and arrow. “I leave for FIVE minutes and you’re falling off roofs. Crazy. Your buddy, Hawkeye.” She smiled. _Sorry…_

There was an adorable card with hearts all over it next to the bear. “So proud of you (Tony is, too.). Love, Pepper.” _I’m proud of Tony._

She was wondering if Natasha left anything when a giant swarm of balloons came bursting through the door. The redhead didn’t even care about hitting the faces of the guards at the door on her way in. “Glad you’re finally awake.”

“Shhh!” Mira pointed to Bucky and Sam.

“They need to wake the hell up, too. These balloons weren’t exactly cheap.” She set them down by Sam and gave Mira a hug. “Quite the mission, Mrs. Barnes. You did a fine job.”

“Thank you Agent Romanoff, it means a lot.”

“Daredevil took Rumlow into custody…” She opened her mouth to say more, then decided against it.

“What?”

“We’ll worry about it when you’re out of the hospital.”

“Worry?”

“Yeah.”

Bucky woke up and saw that Mira was awake and talking. He rushed over to her bed and kissed her all over her face. “Thank God, you’re awake.”

“How long was I out?”

“Just over 28 hours.” Nat replied. “Your body was completely exhausted.”

“Good thing it slowly heals itself, am I right?” Bucky smiled, then the smile faded. It didn’t take her long to figure out why he was upset. “He threw me off the roof, didn’t he?”

“You could’ve filled me in on that part!” Bucky told her.

“Did Sam at least catch me?”

“LUCKILY!”

“Ah, good, just as we planned.”

“I pushed the fucker off the roof!”

“Also part of the plan.” She assured him. “Although we didn’t anticipate you pushing him off. Choking him or beating him were our first guesses.”

“Seriously, Mira?!” He asked. It was the first time she’d seen him this genuinely upset with her since she injected the serum into her veins. “God, my heart stopped. Don’t scare me like that!”

She shifted on the bed and signalled for him to lay with her. He curled up next to her, his head laying on her chest. “I’m not leaving you, Bucky. You should know that.”

“Promise?” She stuck out her pinky. He grinned and stuck out his own for them to pinky swear. “If I die, you can always marry Steve.”

“I think Sam might have that covered.”

Natasha laughed. “The Wilsons sure do get around, don’t they?”

Mira nodded. “Bruce tried to flirt with Adisa.”

“Of course, it was going to be him or fucking Thor.”

“All Thor would have to do is show up, honestly. Does Adisa know about this, by the way?”

Bucky nodded. “She was here an hour ago. We talked a little bit. She cried. It was nice.”

“Glad to see you two bonding.”

“She’s also fucking mad at you for pulling that shit.”

“She’ll get over it.” Like magic, Adisa burst into the room minutes later with Bruce walking closely behind. She was wearing a flower crown, which usually meant she was upset and trying to look cute despite that. “Okay, this has to be a fucking fire hazard.”

Adisa stood at the end of Mira’s bed. “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?”

“Tried to hold her back, sorry…” Bruce said. He quietly placed a tiny teddy bear by her bed and walked out.

“Adisa, listen-”

“NO, YOU LISTEN!” Her loud voice making Sam suddenly wake up.

He sat up with a groan and rubbed his eyes. “Fuck, Adisa, calm down. You’ll wake up the whole hospital.”

She waved an accusatory finger in his face. “YOU KNEW! YOU KNEW THAT NAZI ASSHOLE WOULD THROW MY SISTER OFF A ROOF!”

“We didn’t know anything for sure.” Mira told her. “Honest.”

“GOD, DO YOU HAVE A FUCKING CLUE HOW HARD IT IS TO LIVE IN A FAMILY FULL OF FUCKING SPIES AND SOLDIERS? I’M SURPRISED MY HAIR ISN’T FALLIN’ OUT! GOT ME CRYING IN FRONT OF FUCKING BUCKY AND A REALLY CUTE NURSE NAMED ISABEL BECAUSE YOU DECIDE TO GET THROWN OFF A ROOF? YOU KNOW I HAVE AN UGLY CRYING FACE! THE FUCK I LOOK LIKE?”

“I didn’t actually _decide_ to get thrown off a roof.”

“I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EXAM WHEN SAM CALLED TO TELL ME YOU WERE IN THE HOSPITAL AND I DIDN’T SEE THE MISSED CALL UNTIL AN HOUR LATER… okay, that was my fault… BUT IT WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU DIDN’T PUT YOURSELF AT RISK LIKE THAT!”

“I’m sorry, but I had to put myself at risk. He was threatening to hurt you and Bucky and Sam and I wanted the fucker locked away.”

Bucky and Sam furrowed their brows and looked at Nat. She shook her head at them.

“You’re lucky your fucking boss is in the lobby or, holy shit, I would tear you a new asshole, Mira. Holy shit.” Adisa kissed her on the cheek, leaving behind a bright red stain. “Don’t do it again, you sick fuck. I love you so fucking much.” With that, she stormed out the room, slamming the door behind her.

“Fury is here?” asked Natasha.

“Why?” Mira asked.

“No clue. He doesn’t usually show up to the hospital.” Sam said. “Wonder why he came for you?”

“Okay, is anyone else bothered by the fact that no one has told Mira what happened to Rumlow after Daredevil took him in?” Bucky asked. “She has to know. I can’t keep this from her.”

“What?” She asked.

He faced her and sighed. “Somehow he got out.”

Mira’s eyes widened and her heart rate sped up. “After all that?!”

“He couldn’t have made it far.” Sam assured her. Bucky tried rubbing her back to get her to calm down somehow. “We have a general idea of where he is, we’ll catch him.”

She paused and then started to laugh. “You know it’s actually kinda funny.”

Nat cocked her head to the side. “How is this in any way funny?”

“I really thought he’d be that easy to catch. That’s funny.”

Bucky held her hand. “Mira…”

“I mean the mission wasn’t a total success but that’s life, right?” Mira asked. “There will always be constants in my fucked-up life and I guess he’s just one of them.”

“We’ll catch him.”

“I don’t even care anymore, honestly.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, because as much as he’s a constant in my life, I’m a constant in his.” She said. “If that trash heap wants to keep coming and getting his ass kicked, he can. At least now he knows I ain’t nothin’ to play with.”

Sam smiled and nodded. “That’s my girl!”

“Every second that I’m alive is gonna be living hell for him because he’ll know he had me twice and failed to kill me twice. He can kiss my ass.”

“I love where this went.” Natasha said. “That’s definitely one way of looking at it.”

Director Fury walked in and everyone stood at attention, except for Mira who just sat up a little straighter. She nervously cleared her throat and fixed her hair. “Sir, what are you doing here?”

He stood next to Natasha and Mira noticed the folder in his hand. “I’m here because you just got yourself captured by Hydra, formed a temporary alliance with Daredevil, caused a hell of a lot of damage to public property, and risked the lives of over a hundred of our agents including your own.” He replied. Mira was shaking. She was about to get fired. It was only a matter of time before she was. She was too reckless this time, and Rumlow ended up getting away anyway. “Then, you sacrificed yourself, had Brock Rumlow arrested, and also led the arrests of eighty-five top-ranking Hydra agents.”

Or was she?

“Sir, I don’t understand…”

“That was a real Steve Rogers thing you did back there, and Steve agrees.” He told her. “I’m here to talk about the Avengers Initiative, Agent Wilson.” He glanced over at Bucky for a moment. “Or, should I say Agent Barnes?”

Natasha had the biggest grin on her face, Bucky’s jaw dropped, and Sam was so close to jumping up and down and running through the halls. Mira was frozen with shock.  Her, an Avenger? Never in her wildest dreams! Not once had she ever considered this moment a possibility.

“In fact, Captain Rogers is already at HQ registering you as an Avenger because he was extremely sure you’d say yes.”

At this point, Mira was in tears. This was such a rollercoaster of a day. “It would be an absolute honor, Director.”

“YES!” Sam shouted, pumping his fist in the air. He ran out the room to go find Adisa and tell her. “YES, MIRA!”

Fury handed her the folder and grinned. “Welcome to the team.”

He left the room and she covered her mouth and started crying. Bucky wrapped his arms around her and she cried into his shirt. “What the fuck is even going on in this hospital room right now?” She said.

He laughed. “Something long overdue, Doll.”

Adisa ran back in with Sam. “HOLY SHIT!”

“I KNOW!”

“You need a codename.”  She told her. “What’s it gonna be?”

“I don’t fuckin’ know!” She said. “Something cool and intimidating, which is completely not how I look right now.”

“Let’s see, you have telekinesis and you’re a super soldier…”

“Brain Girl…” Sam suggested.

Everyone shook their heads. “Eww. What about Battleia?” Adisa asked.

“Better but still not good.” Mira told her. “Shit…”

“Blitz.” Bucky suggested. “You tend to attack that way.”

“Sudden and violent?”

“Yeah, it’s scary, but cute. You get so excited.”

“I love it! Blitz!”

So, there she became Mira ‘Blitz’ Wilson. A new Avenger.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are gonna fucking weep.


	21. Surprise!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter is taking me SO long to perfect, so it might take a bit longer than I expected to have it ready, but it'll be worth it... I hope...  
> I honestly don't know.  
> Who knows?  
> Do you know?

Mira was so excited to finally be going home, and going home as an Avenger. Bucky carried her to the car on his back while Sam avoided any and all questions he could about anything ever.

“What have you been hiding, Sam?” She asked.

Sam shrugged. “Been hiding none of your damn business, that’s what.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Come on, Sam, this has been going on for fucking weeks. You should tell us now.”

“Nah.”

“It’s killing me!” Mira whined. “All of y’all been asking about flowers and colors and shit.”

He unlocked the car and they all got in. “We like flowers and colors and shit. Why are y’all so damn worried?” He pulled out of the hospital parking lot and they started shouting their concerns at him at once. “You’ll see when we get home!… Jesus…” Sam’s phone buzzed and he checked the message. “You guys need anything? Smoothies, snacks, condoms? Anything. I’ll stop anywhere you want.”

Bucky and Mira looked at each other then back at him. He was definitely hiding something.

“Shake Shack.” Mira replied. “What about you, baby?”

“I could go for Shake Shack.” He replied, glaring at Sam through the rear-view mirror. “You always know what to expect from good ol’ Shake Shack.”

“I know exactly what you mean.”

They got Shake Shack and started heading home. To distract them, Sam started playing Beyonce and Mira begrudgingly sang along, with Bucky never taking his eyes from Sam. Sam wasn’t bothered, they had no clue what was waiting for them at the tower.

* * *

“TELL US!” Mira shouted as they walked into the tower.

Sam sighed. “We’re literally right here.”

“Yeah, I know, so you can fucking tell us now.”

“Nope.”

Bucky groaned in defeat. “We’ll find out, Doll. No use in fighting Man of Steel here.”

“Hey, that was a great movie.”

Mira pouted. “Okay, fine, but I hate both of you.”

Sam laughed. “Not after you see what’s in the tower.”

“Did you know?” Mira asked Bucky, holding the elevator for him and Sam.

He looked almost offended. “No!”

“Agents Wilson and Agent Barnes, wonderful to see you.” JARVIS said.

Mira gasped. “JARVIS, WHAT’S WAITING UPSTAIRS?”

“I’m afraid you’ll just have to find out Agent Wilson.” He replied. “Welcome to the Avengers by the way, Blitz.”

Mira smiled. “Thanks, buddy.”

The elevator doors opened and the entire floor was decorated in black and white, with white and red roses and white chairs. Everyone was there in dresses and suits, even Thor was there. Adisa, Pepper, and Natasha were wearing form-fitting maroon dresses. Sam took off his jacket revealing a black suit that matched Steve’s with the same maroon color in his tie. Pepper was talking to an officiant up front under an arch while Steve was making sure the lighting was just right.

“What the hell is this?” Mira asked. Everyone froze. Mira took everything in and almost cried. It was all so perfect, so fucking perfect. “I can’t believe this…”

“It’s happening, people!” Steve exclaimed. “Get in your positions!”

* * *

Natasha and Adisa pulled Mira in one direction while Steve and Sam pushed Bucky in the other. Mira was brought to her bedroom where there was a dress bag hanging on the door. Adisa dug out a white flower crown she’d made herself while Natasha unzipped the dress bag slowly.

“You ready for this?” She asked.

“Fuck no, Natasha! This is amazing!” Mira said. “I’m so grateful to-”

“Strip! You can thank us later!” Adisa said. “Strip all the way down, by the way, we also bought lingerie.”

Mira raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“There was a sale at Victoria’s Secret and we’re considerate bridesmaids, now STRIP!”

She stripped down and they helped her get into her lingerie and then her dress. It was a floor-length sleeveless ivory gown with a fitted beaded bodice and a curve hugging trumpet skirt. It was the dress of Mira's dreams, and she looked fantastic in it. Adisa put her curly hair into a loose side braid and carefully placed the crown atop her head while Natasha did her makeup. They gave her flower shaped earrings and a beautiful diamond necklace. It felt like there were a million hands on her, so she could only imagine the fights Bucky was starting.

Bruce walked in with his hand covering his eyes. “Please tell me you’re dressed.”

Mira giggled. “Yeah, Nat’s about to make my lips presentable.”

He took his hand from his eyes and sighed. “Fury can’t make it.”

Natasha groaned. “Who will walk her down the aisle?”

“I asked Pepper the same question and she smiled at me weirdly and told me to ask if it’s be cool that I do it.” He nervously ran his hand along the back of his neck. “Since that’s usually reserved for the Father of the Bride, I wanted to know if that was cool with you.”

“It absolutely is!” Mira replied. “Bruce Banner, will you do me the honor of walking me down the aisle?”

He smiled. “No one’s gonna notice me if I’m standing next to you anyway.”

After Natasha finished Mira’s lips, the happy bride threw her arms around the wonderful friend who was walking her down the aisle.

* * *

Bucky wasn’t fighting, but he was definitely wasn’t enjoying himself.

“I love Mira. I love Mira. I love Mira. I love Mira.”

“I know how much you hate wearing suits but there’s no need to mumble under your breath like a serial killer.” Steve told him.

Bucky shrugged and buttoned his shirt. “Keeps me from becoming one.”

“She’s gonna love you, man.” Sam told him. “By the way, I saw the girls come in with a Victoria’s Secret bag one day. Sounds like a nice honeymoon.”

Bucky smirked. “Do you really want to be thinking about all the things we’ll be doing tonight?… The next _few_ nights honestly.”

“Don’t care, as long as you’re nowhere near me.” Sam replied.

“We got you a hotel room for the next week.” Steve admitted. He took out the black waistcoat and quickly ran a lint roller over it while Sam unboxed his maroon colored tie.

Bucky smiled. “Really?”

“We’re considerate groomsmen.” Sam said. “Now put on your pants, dude!”

* * *

The guests were all seated and ready when the DJ started to play the processional song. Sam entered from the left and walked down the aisle first, fist-bumping Clint on the way up. Steve was next, holding the rings and holding back tears. His best friend on earth was getting married, finally after decades of pain and loneliness. Bucky, who was better at holding back tears, walked up to the altar next. He nodded appreciatively at Pepper for putting it all together, she mouthed “no problem” back at him.

The officiant walked up and then the music shifted into ‘The Bridal Chorus’ as Natasha came in from the right and walked down the aisle. Everyone stood. She elbowed Bucky in the side and whispered, “Wait until you see her. You’re gonna drown in tears.”

Adisa walked up, tears streaming down her face. The groomsmen grinned at her to remind her to smile. She did, but broke down again after taking a good look at Bucky.

Bruce walked out with Mira and they stood at the end of the aisle. Bucky almost fell to his knees right then and there. She looked so gorgeous! He’d been so worried that they wouldn’t get the ‘real’ wedding Mira wanted where she’d wear a gown and they had a ceremony in front of their friends. He was so worried that their situation would rob them of all genuine human experiences. Here she was, in the gown she’s always wanted, with the brightest smile on her face. He was happy to see her happy.

Bruce and Mira walked down the aisle arm in arm, Mira gripping onto her bouquet of white roses for dear life. Pepper jumped up and down excitedly as Bruce ‘gave her away’ and sat down. Mira’s hands were shaking, Bucky ran his thumbs over them and smiled down at her.

“Is it possible for you to not be gorgeous?” He whispered.

She giggled. “I might not be if this mascara isn’t waterproof.”

The officiant smiled at them and once they were ready, he started. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today for the union of these two wonderful and loving people, James Buchanan Barnes and Mira Ella Wilson.”

For everyone but Bucky and Sam, hearing Mira’s middle name was new. She shrugged. “What? No one ever asked.” They all laughed and then the officiant continued.

“You may now say your vows… Just make something up.”

He gestured to Bucky first. Knowing Mira’s vows would probably be amazing put him under a lot of pressure. He knew he just had to speak from the heart. “Wow... How the hell did we end up here?” He said. “My beautiful Mira. You are one of the reasons I even bother waking up in the morning. You make me feel emotions I didn’t even remember I had. I can’t grow bored of you or tired of you because you make me excited about everything because you’re excited about everything and I just guess… I guess so much of me wants to be like you. I don’t have the words to thank you for everything you’ve given me. I promise to love you, and protect you, and live for you till my heart gives out. I love you so much, Doll.”

Not a dry eye in the house.

“Well said. Now your vows, Miss. Wilson.”

“How am I s’posed to top that?” She asked. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and took a deep breath. “You are the man of my dreams, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted, needed, and could’ve asked for. We’ve seen some shit, baby. There’s no debating that. You’re the only boyfriend to see me kidnapped twice. You’re also the first man to cook for me in the mornings. You’re the only man that has ever made me feel like I’m bound to you by my soul. I love how we can spend hours together without talking and still feel like we’ve had the greatest conversation, and I love how you don’t like to let people see you really smile and laugh but you’ll do it for me every single time. You make me so happy. The reason I get so excited with you is because I feel like I finally have a partner! Someone to go through life with! I fucking love you, Bucky Barnes. I promise to support you and defend you and be your best fucking friend until the end of time- whoops, sorry Steve, I meant second best. I'm getting so carried away so I’ll wrap it up.”

“We will now proceed to the exchanging of the rings.”

Steve walked between them with the rings. He must have been crying more than anyone else in the room. He definitely looked like it.

“James, take the ring.” Bucky picked it up. “Now say, ‘With this ring, I thee wed’ and place the ring on her finger.”

He smiled and slipped the ring on her finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.”

“Mira, take the ring.”

“Hell yeah.” She picked up the ring and kissed it.

“Now say, ‘With this ring, I thee wed’, and place the ring on his finger.”

She slipped the ring on his finger and tried to compose herself before saying, “With this ring, I thee wed.”

“I now pronounce you husband and wife!” Mira bounced on her heels and Bucky took her in his arms. “You may kiss the bride!”

Bucky gave her the sweetest, gentlest kiss, trying not to mess up her make-up. Then, Mira pulled him in by his collar and made it twice as passionate, eliciting ‘oohs’ from the guests. Everyone cheered and whistled as they linked hands on stage and presented themselves as husband and wife, finally and forever.

Sam ran in front of them and set down a broom. Mira laughed. “Bet y’all thought this wasn’t a Black wedding!” She high-fived him and jumped the broom with Bucky before the DJ played them out.

* * *

Mira didn't want to dance in her gown, so she had Bucky wait for her outside their room while she changed into a different dress.

"Wait, Doll, why can't I come in?" He asked.

"I don't want you to see me."

"We're already married!"

"I know," She said. "But I want to save this one thing for tonight. Keep you on your toes."

Bucky smiled. "Steve said they got us a hotel room."

"Thank God." She giggled and zipped up her short white party dress and decided to ditch the heels for good. "We're gonna have sex and eat breakfast in bed and have sex again and you can finally fucking watch Pacific Rim with me and we'll have sex again. How long are we gonna have the room?"

"A week."

"Shit, that's a lot of sex. We should probably space that out."

Bucky laughed. "What? Afraid you'll get tired?"

She walked out the room and pressed against him. "I'm not afraid of anything, baby. You should be afraid because once we get inside that room I won’t let you leave the bed until you’re too tired to move."

He bit his lip. "Let’s reverse that.” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’m not letting you leave the bed until we get a complaint from the room next door.”

“Challenge accepted.”

“Good. You're so short without your heels. It's really cute."

"Shut up."

"The top of your head reaches my chin."

"Shut up, let's go dance." She tried pulling him towards the music when he pulled her back.

"Wait," he said. "I love you so much."

She smiled. "I love you too!"

"This might be the only time we're alone before an hour of Adisa getting drunk and Steve being stupidly happy."

She kissed him and ran her hands along his face. Her eyes widened with a new realization. "I want us to move out of the tower."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Really."

"I thought you loved it here."

"I do, but I want us to have a place of our own. A little sanctuary apart from all the Avengers chaos. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Yes! That would be wonderful."

"We don't have to do it right away."

"We should do it soon. It'll probably be some cheap hellhole in Brooklyn but we've both lived in worse places."

"Yeah, but Imma need you to kill the roaches."

He laughed. "I'll do anything you want me to."

"This is really happening. We're really married and getting our own place."

He kissed her again. "You and me against the world."

“Can we go dance now?” Bucky groaned. “Hey, no complaining, you promised you would dance with me at our wedding.”

“When the hell did I promise that?”

“Please?”

“Fine.”

“Awwww, can’t resist me.”

He laughed. “Yeah, sure.”

“Admit it.”

“Absolutely not.”

“It’s cool, I’ll make you admit it at the hotel.”

 


	22. One Last Big Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter for Bucky and Mira :/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written sorta like a timeline.  
> I'm totally *not* crying about this being done. Don't worry about me.

**The timeline of events begins two years later on a warm August afternoon; 4:00 PM**

The Avengers had just finished a routine mission, they were regrouping and healing inside the helicarrier. It’d been a long few days, and the team was completely exhausted. Bucky cleaned his rifle and tried not to worry about what was miles away and out of his control at home, but it was hard.

_She told me she’d be fine in the apartment alone but the baby could come any moment and I want to be there for her the whole time. God, I should’ve taken time off, but she’d never let me. She’d flash that ridiculously beautiful smile of her’s and tell me everything will be okay. I asked Adisa to check in on her, so that’s handled, why am I so worried?_

“Buck, you okay?” Steve asked. He sat beside him with a concerned look. “Worried about Mira?”

Bucky let out a deep sigh and tangled his fingers in his hair. “She hasn’t called in hours, what if she went into labor?”

“Have you called her?”

“Yes! Three times in the last hour! She hasn’t picked up.” Since finding out Mira was pregnant, Bucky had been a nervous wreck. He didn’t want her getting hurt, he didn’t want the baby getting hurt. He called her so much she basically had to tell him to calm down. Mira was quite tranquil and pleased being pregnant but Bucky… Bucky physically couldn’t stop worrying.

“She might be sleep, she’s been doing a lot of that since she got pregnant.”

“I would too if I were carrying a whole person.” He checked his phone. Nothing. “I mean, at least Adisa should’ve called back.”

“They’re fine, Bucky. I’m sure they are. We’re just three hours away.”

Bucky’s eyes widened and he picked the phone up again. “Three hours?! I thought we were just off the coast!”

Steve covered his face. “Why did I say that? What was I thinking? Of course he didn’t calm down...”

“Oh God… come on, Doll, answer the phone…”

The phone rang twice. Each time felt an hour long. Bucky was stressed out beyond belief. Finally, Adisa picked up.

“Brother!”

He sighed with relief and smiled. “Hi, Adisa.”

“I guess you wanna know how Mi-Mi is doing.”

“Yeah, that would help me not go into cardiac arrest.”

“She’s fine, we were watching No Good Deeds and eating ice cream.”

Bucky laughed. “Horror movies for the baby?”

Adisa giggled. “She wanted the baby to be inspired by the power of Taraji P. Henson.”

“Sounds like her.” He cleared his throat and went into the bathroom to talk in private. “Hey, can I talk to her?”

“Uh, yeah, she’s your wife.” Adisa told him. "Hold on one second..."

He waited patiently while Adisa handed the phone to Mira. They giggled about something he couldn't make out and Bucky's face lit up at the sound of her beautiful laugh. "Oh honey, what are you gonna do when the kid is actually here?" Mira asked him.

"Hi, Doll, how are you?" He asked.

"I'm fine, baby, how are you?" He could practically hear the smile in her voice.

"Are you sure you're fine? No contractions or anything? Are you comfortable?"

"Bucky, Adisa is being the perfect caregiver. She even cancelled a date to come over. You have nothing to worry about. I’ve had the runs but that’s it. The little one ain't coming until their daddy is here. I promise."

"It's just-"

"Bucky, I get it. Two years ago we didn't even know we could have kids and now there's one on the way and you don't want to risk anything."

He paused. She hit the nail on the head. This baby was a miracle. An unlikely gift. He didn't want to lose it. "I'll be home in three hours."

"Good, because I'm going to kiss you so hard you're gonna revisit the night we made this little kickin' machine."

He chuckled. "I love you. Let me tell the baby."

Mira put him on speaker and held the phone by her belly. "Shoot."

"I love you, too." He said. "Can't wait to meet you."

"Bucky! They kicked! They heard you!"

He covered his mouth. "Do you think they know my voice?"

"They might. Some babies do."

"Amazing... I really don't wanna hang up the phone."

"You'll see us in three hours, baby. I love you."

"I love you, too, bro!" Adisa shouted.

"Love you, Adisa." He heard sniffling outside the bathroom door. "I'll call you when I land…” He hung up the phone and opened the door only to see the other Avengers pretending not to eavesdrop. Steve, sniffling in the place where Bucky left him, gave them away completely. “She’s okay, if you _must_ know.”

Sam nodded. “Your nursery looks great by the way, don’t think I told you that yet.”

Bucky shrugged. “That was all Mira and Steve, I just did the heavy lifting.”

Natasha smiled and patched a wound on her arm. “She’s gonna love it.”

“Nat, we don’t know the sex of the baby yet.”

“Trust me, _she’s_ gonna love it.”

* * *

 

**7:30 PM**

Mira was sat on the couch while her sister washed the dishes in the kitchen, rubbing her very pregnant belly. She was enjoying being pregnant, oddly enough. She felt really relaxed, but also excited. She worked at S.H.I.E.L.D HQ until Bucky suggested she go on pregnancy leave, then she spent her days on art and pregnancy yoga and spending time with people she never had time to while she was ‘Avenging’. She didn’t want to be worried with the stress of The Avengers, and their tiny apartment in Brooklyn was so well-hidden that she was able to do this easily. Except, of course, when her husband got hurt.

Well, they were down to the last lap. The baby was supposed to come that week and they had everything ready. The hospital knew about Mira’s ‘special circumstance’ ie; the Super Soldier serum and they were close enough that Mira could walk. Everything was under control.

In fact, just about the only thing they didn’t know was the sex of the baby. There was a little bet going on about that at the tower. Tony, Clint, and Sam thought the baby would be a boy while Natasha and Steve ‘knew’ the baby would be a girl. Losers owed the winners twenty bucks, with the exception of Tony who said he’d give Natasha and Steve $200 each if they were right. Bucky wasn’t the happiest person in the world when he heard about this bet.

Speaking of Bucky…

Bucky opened the door to the apartment and smiled at his lovely wife, so happy to be home. He locked the door and she smiled back at him, slowly standing up to go hug him and kiss him like she’d promised on the phone. He held her face in his hands and kissed her first.

“Look at my hot wife…” He said.

She giggled. “Easy now, hornball, this one isn’t even here yet.” Adisa walked in and waved hello to him. Then she noticed that she was wrecking the moment and promptly excused herself back into the kitchen to finish the dishes. Mira laughed and looked down at her belly. “Any minute now…”

She lifted her shirt and he gently touched the baby with his flesh and blood hand. “I can’t wait.”

She gently took his metal hand and placed it where she thought the head was. “The baby isn’t going to care if daddy’s hand is a little cold.” She told him. “Stop being afraid.”

He sighed and took the hand away. “They’ll wonder how I got it.”

“So, we’ll tell them the truth.” Mira said. “Daddy has a metal arm because he’s a war hero and mommy can move things without touching them because she was trying to protect daddy. Hydra is part of our life, it doesn’t have to be part of their’s.”

“You know that won’t be a satisfying answer for long, right?”

“It’ll buy us some time to think of something better.” She told him. “Then there’s the possibility that they don’t question any of this at all. Some kids don’t. They might not blink an eye at their Avenger parents or the fact that their godfather is Captain America.”

“That’s true… Maybe I’ll just let you do all the talking.”

“You’ll get better. Parenting is a skill as much as fighting is from what I can tell, and I think we’ll be just fine.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” He kissed her again and went to go talk to Adisa in the kitchen. “I’m just wondering when the kid is gonna come.”

* * *

 

**8:46 PM**

“ARE YOU SURE THE BABY IS COMING?!”

“YES, ADISA, FOR FUCK’S SAKE MY WATER JUST BROKE!” Mira screamed. “GOD, I KNEW THESE CONTRACTIONS WERE A LITTLE STRONGER THAN- SHIT! GOD, THAT HURTS!”

Bucky already had the hospital bag slung over his shoulder and was rushing to hold the door open for Mira, while trying not to be too distraught by the sound of her crying. He texted Sam and grabbed her phone too.

“C’mon, Doll, we’re getting you to the hospital.” He gently led her outside. Adisa was on her other side, rubbing her back and holding her arm around her shoulders for support, a brave thing to do considering the fact that Mira was Super Soldier who could’ve broken her thin sister’s bones with a reflexive squeeze.

“You sure you wanna walk?” Bucky asked.

Mira nodded. “We’re like two blocks aWAY JESUS!!”

_Yeah, not an option_. Bucky hailed a cab and quickly got them inside. “Thanks so much.” Adisa told the driver.

“Why don’t you ever listen to me?!” Mira asked Bucky.

He raised an eyebrow. “I wanted to get you to the hospital faster.”

“Baby, I’m not gonna die if I WALK, SHIT!” Another contraction hit and she ran her hands through her hair. “Ugh, but thank you.”

“The contractions must be getting stronger.” Adisa said.

Bucky nodded. “Considerably so…”

“Oh really, what was your first hint?!”

They got to the hospital and Adisa quickly paid the driver while Bucky got them inside. He kissed Mira’s forehead and got her signed in. The contractions were painful but still reasonably far apart. The baby was definitely coming, but it seemed like labor would definitely be slower-moving.

As she laid in the hospital bed, Mira tried to distract herself from the pain by thinking about happier things and talking to Bucky, which was a happier thing.

“You are the cutest, sweetest husband in the world, and I’ve seen you kill people so that’s coming from my heart.” Mira told him.

He smiled. “Are you getting used to the pain?” She groaned as another contraction hit. “I guess that’s a ‘no’.”

“They’re getting closer together.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re trying to relax,” said a nurse as she checked Mira’s vitals. “Also, you have a host of interesting guests sitting in the waiting room.”

“Like who?”

“Steve Rogers and the Avengers, can you believe it?”

Mira gasped. “He’s here? Great. I knew he’d make it.”

“You know The Avengers?”

“I _am_ an Avenger.”

The nurse paused for a moment and studied her face before a smile crept on her face. “Blitz?!”

“Yeah…”

“Holy shit! You look so different pregnant!”

“Yeah…”

She turned to Bucky. “Wait, and you’re…”

“Don’t make it weird.” Bucky said under his breath.

“I had no CLUE you two were together! Having a little soldier baby! How precious! I must be the luckiest nurse in New York.”

“Oh God, you made it weird.”

"No wonder we hadn't seen you in a while. Everyone just thought you left the team!"

"Nah, just pregnancy leave."

"That’s crazy. You think you'll fit in the suit again?"

Mira sighed. Would a male hero get asked this question? "Yeah, probably. Super Soldiers have increased metabolisms." She informed her. "Plus I want my baby to see me save the world, y'know?"

Bucky smiled when she said that. Then, she let out a cry. The contractions were getting closer and closer together. The nurse called in the doctor.

"What's going on?!" Bucky asked.

The nurse laughed sarcastically and moved out of the doctor's way. "The beautiful miracle of birth."

"They're about five minutes apart now, correct?" The doctor asked her. She nodded. "You're a first-timer so this could last between six to ten hours before the actual delivery."

Mira tried to breathe as she'd practiced a thousand times. "Right, how long is delivery?"

"For you, I'd say an hour or two." He replied.

She groaned. _Nothing is ever fucking easy_. "Bucky, seriously, why the fuck did we have so much sex nine months ago?"

"We were in Italy and we had too much free time and not enough birth control."

"Oh, right that sunrise was incredible..." She said wistfully. "You had the sexiest tan..."

He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "I'll be here the whole time. We've been through worse."

"Yes we have." She turned to the nurse. "Hey, nurse… My apologies, what’s your name?"

"It’s Sophia. What d’you need?"

"Can I watch a movie?"

"Like what?"

"Jurassic Park. All of them.”

* * *

 

**2:17 AM**

Jurassic Park wasn’t working so well anymore. Mira was now officially in delivery, and it was getting so painful for her, and for Bucky to watch. His natural instinct to protect her from pain couldn’t help her here and it sucked. She was handling the pain like the pro she was, her body had built a reasonable tolerance over the years, but it was still hard to watch.

The real party was in the waiting room.

“Wait, she’s giving birth right now, they’re starting to see the baby?” Natasha asked.

Adisa nodded. She was out of breath from running down to tell them. “Screaming at the top of her lungs. Pretty sure she might crush Buck’s hand.”

“Is there anything wrong so far?” Sam asked.

Adisa shook her head and sat next to Steve. “She’s doing great, actually. The doctors said she’d have a relatively quick delivery. It’ll take like an hour, maybe less.”

Sam smiled. “How’s Bucky doing?”

“He’s not the one giving birth so you’d have to ask him.” She looked around. “Where the hell is Tony?”

“Sleeping next to Banner on the other side of the room.” Steve said, rubbing his eyes. “It’s been a long day.”

“I know I just bought my fourth cup of coffee.” Adisa said. She held it towards him. “Cap want coffee?”

“No, thanks.”

“Everybody ready to open their wallets?” Sam asked. “Because some of us are gonna be twenty dollars short as soon as that little ball of energy pops out.”

“One of us is gonna be 200 short.” Natasha said.

Tony opened one eye. “Don’t think I didn’t hear that, Romanoff.”

Clint was sitting next to Sam with his legs propped up on the empty seat next to him. “Man, Nat, you talk a lot of shit for someone who probably doesn’t have twenty to give.”

She smirked. “I have a twenty, I just know I won’t need it.”

“I told Bucky to text me when the baby arrives.” Adisa waved her pink iPhone in the air. “So I hold the key to all of your futures.”

“Is anyone else really excited to see how this kid turns out?” Nat asked. “She’s bound to be interesting with those two as parents.”

“He’ll be great. He’ll be super smart.” Clint told her. “Probably a good fighter.”

“She’ll have great hair.” Steve said.

Sam chuckled. “Yeah, he will.”

“They’ll have the prettiest eyes and the kindest nature.” Adisa said. “No matter the gender, I think they’ll inherit Bucky’s quiet intensity.”

“I think she’ll inherit Mira’s artistic talent.” Natasha said.

“I can’t wait for the baby to actually come so this bet can be over…” Bruce said.

Tony laughed. “You’re here to remind us to stay civil.”

“Sure.” He said. “That’s always why I’m around, right?”

“You’re the most reasonable person here, to be honest.” Sam told him. “At least, you’re one of them.”

Adisa squealed. “I’m on the edge of my seat, this is so exciting! I’m gonna be someone’s stressed out bisexual lawyer auntie!”

* * *

 

**3:20 AM**

With shaky hands, Bucky typed the words ‘She’s here!’ to Adisa. The baby was beautiful, healthy, crying as she should’ve been. Mira was exhausted but smiling through it all. He sent the text and put the phone down so he could cut the umbilical cord. The nurses quickly cleaned her up and wrapped her in a blanket before laying her in Mira’s arms. Tears of joy fell down Bucky’s face. Mira shifted on the bed for him to lay with them.

Once the baby was comfortable in the warmth of her parents, she became quiet. Mira was afraid of holding her too tight, but she was so happy to finally have her here. Nurse Sophia smiled and asked about a name.

“Stephanie… or maybe Stevie.” Bucky suggested.

Mira smiled. “I like Stevie. It’s tough, like she is. Stevie Katerina Barnes.”

He smiled and leaned down to kiss his newborn daughter. Soft, blue-eyed, and cinnamon skinned. She looked like a cherub painted on a church wall. “Hi, little Stevie. I’m your daddy.”

Mira giggled softly and kissed him on the cheek. “She looks like she doesn’t care.”

“Of course not, she’s seen your beautiful face, why should she care about mine?” He watched her take her first breaths and a rush of emotions and thoughts suddenly hit him. “She’s so small, so innocent.”

“Like a tiny little clean slate. I want to protect her from everything we have to deal with.”

Bucky held Mira’s chin up and looked into her eyes. “We _will_.”

She kissed him and turned back to Stevie. Over the course of her life Mira saw many changes, but none more momentous than meeting Bucky. When he walked into HQ on that fateful day and struck up a conversation with her, she thought she was just getting a good friend out of the deal. Actually, she didn’t even expect that. But they became best friends, then lovers, then husband and wife, and now they were parents. Since she met Bucky she became wiser, stronger, happier, she’d even gotten superpowers! She was an Avenger! She survived Hydra multiple times at that point and countless other things!

Most of all, she had Bucky himself. She had a partner and a lover. She had a full support system and someone who understood her pain and actively sought to fight it for her. It was amazing. She hardly remembered who she was before Bucky, and she didn’t really want to go back.

“We’ve had a strange life, you and I.” Mira said with a sigh.

He chuckled, remembering her saying something similar the day they’d met. “Yeah, it seems to only be getting stranger…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for everything. Thanks to the readers, those who bookmarked this and 'People Aren't Weapons', those who commented, those who sent me cute tumblr messages. Thank you. This was such a huge part of my creative life and the characters are super important to me and I lied about not crying earlier but thanks. I love you <3  
> Now about that Loki guy...


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